Junior Mance RIP

[kh1958]

I saw him play at a restaurant in NYC a couple of times on Sunday afternoon. His playing was fine except the setting was not worthy of his talent. He was very warm and friendly when I bought a CD. 

[Hardbopjazz]

23 minutes ago, kh1958 said:

I saw him play at a restaurant in NYC a couple of times on Sunday afternoon. His playing was fine except the setting was not worthy of his talent. He was very warm and friendly when I bought a CD. 

café.lupe, New York.  
that’s where I saw him perform. 

[mjzee]

Another chance to recommend this excellent, unusual album.  Mance plays Dizzy's compositions with a group consisting of flute, guitar, bass and drums - no trumpet in sight.  It really works.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_'Tis_(Junior_Mance_album)

[mikeweil]

R.I.P. 

He must have been the last musician alive besides Roy Haynes to have played with Lester Young. Turns out I have quite a lot of his early sides with Pres, Jug, and others. Will have to give them a listen again.

[cliffpeterson]

Yes, Junior was hired to provide the music for the swing dancers.  To most of them (presumably other than whoever hired him) the trio was just another group. Hence, us fans on metal chairs were a curiosity. 

July 2007 at the Hibernian Hall on Ontario Street in Albany:

http://aplaceforjazz.org/Newsletter%2007Sep.pdf. (scroll down to page 7, middle column under heading "Surprise Visitor")

[Ted O'Reilly]

2 hours ago, mikeweil said:

R.I.P. 

He must have been the last musician alive besides Roy Haynes to have played with Lester Young. 

Gene DiNovi is still with us, alive and well and playing in Toronto.  Well, playing....y'know: covid 19.

I loved Junior Mance's playing, and him personally.  A lovely, sweet man was Julian C. Mance Jr.  I recorded him for broadcast many times at Cafe des Copains and the Montreal Bistro in Toronto, then would go in to hear him again and again the same week.  He was a great dinner companion too, with lots of stories, some of which can't be repeated in polite company.  In my always-changing list of top-five Favourite Piano Players Junior and Ray Bryant are always included.

 

[JSngry]

33 minutes ago, cliffpeterson said:

Yes, Junior was hired to provide the music for the swing dancers.  To most of them (presumably other than whoever hired him) the trio was just another group. Hence, us fans on metal chairs were a curiosity. 

July 2007 at the Hibernian Hall on Ontario Street in Albany:

http://aplaceforjazz.org/Newsletter%2007Sep.pdf. (scroll down to page 7, middle column under heading "Surprise Visitor")

Wow...any idea who booked that gig and why? Maybe Junior Mance had a career outside of just playing for "jazz audiences"?

Did he keep it danceable all night? I mean hell, cats like him came up playing dances, right? If you can swing, and don't mind a constrcted range of tempos, get those gigs, make that money, why not?

Still, would like to know what the networking was, if he had an agent, a manager, etc. Seems like the guy always had something going.

[cliffpeterson]

No idea who booked the band.  Yes, Junior swung all night-the dancers seemed to enjoy the music. 

[Alex Potts]

9 hours ago, mikeweil said:

R.I.P. 

He must have been the last musician alive besides Roy Haynes to have played with Lester Young. Turns out I have quite a lot of his early sides with Pres, Jug, and others. Will have to give them a listen again.

René Urtreger's still around as well, I think

[DMP]

As a sideman, one of his strongest performances is with the Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis - Johnny Griffin group, from Minton’s in 1961. That night yielded material for 4 Prestige albums!  His solos are a highlight in a night filled with highlights.  

[ghost of miles]

On 1/18/2021 at 2:15 PM, Hardbopjazz said:

café.lupe, New York.  
that’s where I saw him perform. 

Played a couple cuts on the show today off a live CD that he recorded there in 2007, with Jose James guesting on vocals.

[HutchFan]

22 minutes ago, DMP said:

As a sideman, one of his strongest performances is with the Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis - Johnny Griffin group, from Minton’s in 1961. That night yielded material for 4 Prestige albums!  His solos are a highlight in a night filled with highlights.  

Yeah. That's some strong stuff.   

And don't forget this one-off record with Dexter!

[rpklich]

Last time I got to hear him was in the 00s in his hometown of Evanston with a quintet.  Had a lot of long time friends in the audience.  I liked the Lp he recorded for the BeeHive label.