Junior Mance

[Clunky]

He plays best when wearing a sweater

Another excellent sweatered session from Mance

I've this one on order, as they've got it in my size...............LP

[sheldonm]

...here is an image I made of Junior at the Chicago Symphony Center.

m~

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

...here is an image I made of Junior at the Chicago Symphony Center.

m~

Nice photo - very studious. But where's his beard?

MG

[Clunky]

...here is an image I made of Junior at the Chicago Symphony Center.

m~

Nice photo - very studious. But where's his sweater?

MG

in the laundry ?

[poetrylover3]

Dexter Gordon With the Junior Mance Trio Live At Montreux burns! Great playing from both Junior and Dexter. Easily one of my favorite live jaz recordings.

Peace,

Jeff T,

[Teasing the Korean]

Has anyone mentioned "Straight Ahead" on Capitol, with Mancini-esque arrangements by Bob Bain? The cover looks great on the wall next to Gerald Wilson's "Everywhere."

[sheldonm]

...here is an image I made of Junior at the Chicago Symphony Center.

m~

Nice photo - very studious. But where's his beard?

MG

...I just checked the larger original....it's there...just can't see it on the smaller image.

[Chuck Nessa]

Here comes the turd in the punch bowl.

I always saw him as a "decent, educated player" but never really felt him as a "natural" player. His blues (a claim to fame for some fans) seems "studied" in a way similar to Oscar Peterson.

He is a wonderful guy personally, but that's what I think about his music.

[sheldonm]

[Shawn]

I'll respectfully disagree with Chuck on that score.

This is one of my favorite albums by Junior...

and having Bob Cranshaw & Mickey Roker backing him up doesn't hurt.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

He is a wonderful guy personally, but that's what I think about his music.

I think that's what comes through in his music. What more can you ask?

MG

[mjzee]

I have this one as a leader: Here 'Tis

Very nice session. He made a few for Sackville.

HERE 'TIS

JUNIOR MANCE

1. Here 'Tis (8:02)

2. Woody 'N You (6:16)

3. Ow (9:51)

4. Con Alma (4:51)

5. Tour de Force (5:48)

6. Tin Tin Deo (9:44)

7. I Waited for You (7:03)

8. Blue 'N' Boogie (6:15)

9. A Night in Tunisia (3:33)

Musicians

* Bill McBirnie - Flute

* Junior Mance - Piano

* Kieran Overs - Bass

* Norman Marshall Villeneuve - Drums

* Reg Schwager - Guitar

I'm a Junior Mance fan. Check out that instrumentation again: On a tribute to Dizzy, no horns or reeds! Very well done. What shines through on a Mance recording are composure and intelligence. Very enjoyable musician.

[Jim R]

Fifteen years ago a friend of mine from work informed me that he was a semi-professional musician, a drummer, and that he had once played a gig with Junior Mance. He was really proud of that!

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=33906

[Peter Friedman]

My take on Junior Mance is that he is a solid journeyman jazz piano player, but not one of my true favorites. Where I differ from Chuck is that I see him at his best as a blues player. His blues sound very "natural" to me. In fact Junior does his best to bring the blues or a blues feeling into most of what he plays. I attended one of his recording sessions for the Sackville label, and the blues feeling permeated the entire afternoon.

On non-blues jazz tunes and standards, Junior's solos don't raise to the level I hear in many other piano players.

He is definitely a very nice guy.

[Joe]

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I'd completely forgotten that album!

MG

[jeffsjazz]

I'll respectfully disagree with Chuck on that score.

This is one of my favorite albums by Junior...

and having Bob Cranshaw & Mickey Roker backing him up doesn't hurt.

I WHOLE HEARTEDLY CONCUR

[Noj]

I dig Junior Mance whenever I hear him, and will pick up some of the recs here. Most recently I've been groovin' to "I Believe To My Soul."

[Shawn]

I dig Junior Mance whenever I hear him, and will pick up some of the recs here. Most recently I've been groovin' to "I Believe To My Soul."

Oh yeah...that's a FUN album!

[John L]

Here comes the turd in the punch bowl.

I always saw him as a "decent, educated player" but never really felt him as a "natural" player. His blues (a claim to fame for some fans) seems "studied" in a way similar to Oscar Peterson.

He is a wonderful guy personally, but that's what I think about his music.

Interesting.

I have always enjoyed Mance's accompaniments quite a bit. He swings hard, has impeccable articulation, and doesn't get into anybody's way (The latter is primarily what sets him apart from Peterson in my mind). I thought that he did a great job, in particular, with Griff and Lockjaw.

Mance is very bluesy. On the other hand, I have never thought of him as a particularly great blues player in the sense of being highly inventive with the blues. One blues performance that sticks out in my mind is his reworking of "Blue Monk" on the "Junior's Blues" album. Very nice.

Edited June 5, 2007 by John L

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

There's a sense in which I feel that it's unnecessary for a great blues player to be inventive. How inventive would you say Mance is, compared to, say, Muddy Waters or B B King?

MG

[Shawn]

I really don't consider Mance to be a "blues" player, I think he's a "bluesy" player (a big difference IMO). Blues doesn't have to be innovative...it just has to be "felt".

[John L]

There's a sense in which I feel that it's unnecessary for a great blues player to be inventive. How inventive would you say Mance is, compared to, say, Muddy Waters or B B King?

MG

I think that Muddy Waters and BB King are highly inventive in the blues. They created styles and approaches in the blues that are now associated with their names and copied by 1000s of others. In the blues, I think of Junior Mance more as a practitioner, and a very fine one. In general, I have no trouble with the idea of Junior Mance being "great."

Edited June 5, 2007 by John L

[Late]

Just got done listening to these two records back-to-back. Good feelings.