Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Junior Mance: Sweet and Lovely

Junior Mance: Sweet and Lovely

By C. Michael Bailey
July 1, 2004
Sign in to view read count

Bobby Timmons, Gene Harris, Junior Mance - these men comprise the Holy Trinity of soul/blues jazz pianists. All three have a complete command of the blues, along with gospel, which makes up the subatomic particles of soul jazz piano. Why is Horace Silver not here? Because he is one of the founding fathers of hard bop, and we have to draw the line somewhere. The three pianists above were making music late ?50s-?60s that corresponded to the popular music soul craze coming out of Motown and Muscle Shoals Alabama. They also share in common a means of playing that is more closely comparable to organ soul jazz of Jimmy Smith and Richard Groove Holmes, that is, heavily blues and gospel-based selections, as well as standards infused with the same.

Sweet and Lovely is a Fantasy twofer consisting of Mance's early '60s Jazzland recordings The Soulful Piano of Junior Mance (Jazzland 930) and Big Chief (Jazzland 953). Each original recording was collected at its own session ( The Soulful Piano on October 25, 1960; Big Chief on August 1, 1961). Because of time constraints, "The Seasons," originally released on Big Chief, is omitted from the current collection. No matter. Sweet and Lovely illustrates plainly how Mance integrated the organic funk of Timmons with the perfect accessibility of Harris. Both Mance and Harris, indeed, have a similar approach toward "Summertime," each providing their personal vision of barrelhouse piano playing, light years away from the piece's ballad roots. Mance funks out on "The Uptown" and Milt Jackson's "Ralph's New Blues." In fact, I will not accuse Mance of being a ballads player, though he is a capable balladeer. No, Junior Mance's long coat is the blues, and that is in abundant supply on Sweet and Lovely.

Track Listing

The Uptown; Ralph's New Blues; Main Stem; Darlin, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup; Playhouse; Sweet And Lovely; In The Land Of Oo-Bla-Dee; I Don't Care; Swingmatism; Big Chief!; Love For Sale; Fillet Of Soul; Swish; Summertime; Ruby My Dear; Little Miss Gail; Atlanta Blues.

Personnel

Junior Mance

piano

Junior Mance: piano; Ben Tucker: bass; Jimmy Rowser: bass; Bobby Thomas: drums; Paul Gusman: drums.

Album information

Title: Sweet And Lovely | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Fantasy Jazz

< Previous
So What: The Best of Michel Petrucciani

Next >
The Painter

Comments

About Junior Mance

Instrument: Piano

Tags

For the Love of Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help

To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.