Chicago-born pianist Junior Mance first came to prominence with Gene Ammons and Lester Young in the late Forties and consolidated his place at the top table touring and recording with Dinah Washington, the Cannonball Adderley Quintet and the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet in the Fifties.
By the time he formed his own trio in 1961 he had evolved into one of the most compelling, joy-generating performers of the groove-funk-soul-plus-neo-bop school, amply signalled on "The Soulful Piano of Junior Mance."
Later, on "Big Chief!," he proved this to be only a partially valid designation, projecting a variety of moods and spicing his work with distinctive chord voicings and a much lighter touch than that of most of soul-pianists, especially in his sensitive exploration of Sara Casseys exquisite impressionistic composition, The Seasons.
The second CD on this set contains mostly live performances, including his trio album, "At the Village Vanguard," and five tracks from broadcasts recorded during the trios frequent 1961 engagements at Birdland.
Throughout his work in this collection Junior Mance stands as a particularly pleasurable example of a generation of bop pianists, one wholike Bobby Timmons, Ray Bryant and the great Wynton Kellycombined the innovations of bop with a firm grounding in the timeless verities of the blues.
Tracklist
Total time: 153:47 min.
CD 1
01. The Uptown (Mance) 4:02
02. Ralphs New Blues (Jackson) 4:22
03. Main Stem (Ellington) 4:21
04. Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup (Sosenko) 3:34
05. Playhouse (Mance) 4:13
06. Sweet and Lovely (Lemare-Arnheim-Tobias) 3:36
07. In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee (Williams-Orent) 4:36
08. I Dont Care (Bryant) 4:27
09. Swingmatism (McShann-Scott) 5:13
10. Big Chief! (Mance) 4:15
11. Love for Sale (Porter) 4:56
12. The Seasons (Cassey) 3:30
13. Fillet of Soul (Gales) 4:28
14. Swish (Mance) 3:41
15. Summertime (G.& I. Gershwin) 4:12
16. Ruby, My Dear (Monk) 5:59
17. Little Miss Gail (Mance) 4:48
CD 2
01. Atlanta Blues (Handy-Elman) 5:51
02. Looptown (Mance) 5:04
03. Letter from Home (Mance) 4:46
04. Girl of My Dreams (Clapp) 3:58
05. 63rd Street Theme (Griffin) 6:17
06. Smokey Blues (Mance) 6:33
07. 9:20 Special (Warren-Palmer) 5:07
08. Bingo Domingo (Davis) 4:39
09. You Are Too Beautiful (Rodgers-Hart) 5:26
10. Woodyn You (Gillespie) 5:40 (*) Bonus Track
11. The Uptown (Mance) 6:19 (*) Bonus Track
12. Girl of My Dreams (Clapp) 4:05 (*) Bonus Track
13. Summertime (G.& I. Gershwin) 8:12 (*) Bonus Track
14. Ruby My Dear (Monk) 5:49 (*) Bonus Track
Album details
Original sources:
CD 1, tracks #1-9 from the album "The Soulful Piano of junior Mance"
(Jazzland JLP 930)
CD 1, tracks #10-17 & CD 2, track #1 from the album "Big Chief" (Jazzland JLP 953)
CD 2, tracks #2-9 from "Junior Mance Trio At the Village Vanguard"
(Jazzland JLP 941)
CD 2, tracks #10-14 from the album "Junior Mance Trio" (Ozone LP 23)
Personnel on "The Soulful Piano":
Junior Mance (p), Ben Tucker (b), Bobby Thomas (d).
Recorded at Plaza Sound Studios, New York City, on October 25, 1960
Personnel on "Big Chief":
Junior Mance (p), Jimmy Rowser (b), Paul Gusman (d).
Recorded at Plaza Sound Studios, New York City, on August 1, 1961
Personnel on "At The Village Vanguard":
Junior Mance (p), Larry Gales (b), Ben Riley (d).
Recorded live at the Village Vanguard, New York City, February 22 & 23, 1961
The bonus tracks are broadcast performances:
Junior Mance (p), Jimmy Rowser (b), Paul Gusman (d).
Recorded live at Birdland, New York City, on June 25, October 21 & November 25, 1961
Original recordings produced by Orrin Keepnews.
Broadcast recordings taped by Boris Rose.
Original Jazzland covers designed by Ken Deardoff.
Photos by Donald Silverstein.
This CD release produced by Jordi Pujol.
Stereo / Mono · 24-Bit Digitally Remastered
