JUNIOR MANCE - Groovin’ With Junior
Sackville SKCD2- 3070
Junior Mance ( pno ) Dave Young ( bass ) Archie Alleyne ( drs )
Recorded Toronto, 4 June 2006
Pianist Junior Mance had a long and active career in jazz he played with the tenor player Gene Ammons and later with the Gene Ammons-Sonny Stitt Quintet. He was also a member of the Lester Young bop inclined group, also used his talents to accompany singer Dinah Washington..He is probably best known for his work with the popular Cannonball Adderley Quintet where his style of playing was just right for the group. He later concentrated on piano trio playing and was very popular with the audiences on Floating Jazz Festival Cruises.
His approach to his playing contained a very strong blues influence married with a swinging rhythm,. this album covers all those aspects of his style.
This session was recorded in front of an audience which generally inspires Junior Mance to inspire his best work and this recording is no exception.For this performance he has the talents of the Canadian bass player Don Thompson who brings great strength to the proceedings.
The album gets off to a hard swinging start with a nearly ten minuite version of “Falling in Love With Love” which brings out the best in the trio’s playing. Thelonious Monk’s often neglected ballad ”Ask Me Now” s given a respectful treatment which brings out the beauty in the composition.
Junior Mance’s own composition !Blues For The Bistro” is approached in the down home funky style which we have come to expect from him. The Miles Davis number “The Theme” often used as a closing number at gigs and given numerous titles and lends it’s self to a piano trio treatment and a highly successful set to a fitting close.
This is the best piano trio album to come my way for some time and displays all the considerable talents of Junior Mance.
Reviewed by Roy Booth
Sackville SKCD2- 3070
Junior Mance ( pno ) Dave Young ( bass ) Archie Alleyne ( drs )
Recorded Toronto, 4 June 2006
Pianist Junior Mance had a long and active career in jazz he played with the tenor player Gene Ammons and later with the Gene Ammons-Sonny Stitt Quintet. He was also a member of the Lester Young bop inclined group, also used his talents to accompany singer Dinah Washington..He is probably best known for his work with the popular Cannonball Adderley Quintet where his style of playing was just right for the group. He later concentrated on piano trio playing and was very popular with the audiences on Floating Jazz Festival Cruises.
His approach to his playing contained a very strong blues influence married with a swinging rhythm,. this album covers all those aspects of his style.
This session was recorded in front of an audience which generally inspires Junior Mance to inspire his best work and this recording is no exception.For this performance he has the talents of the Canadian bass player Don Thompson who brings great strength to the proceedings.
The album gets off to a hard swinging start with a nearly ten minuite version of “Falling in Love With Love” which brings out the best in the trio’s playing. Thelonious Monk’s often neglected ballad ”Ask Me Now” s given a respectful treatment which brings out the beauty in the composition.
Junior Mance’s own composition !Blues For The Bistro” is approached in the down home funky style which we have come to expect from him. The Miles Davis number “The Theme” often used as a closing number at gigs and given numerous titles and lends it’s self to a piano trio treatment and a highly successful set to a fitting close.
This is the best piano trio album to come my way for some time and displays all the considerable talents of Junior Mance.
Reviewed by Roy Booth
