COMPOSERS: Various
LABELS: Milestone
PERFORMER: Junior Mance
CATALOGUE NO: MCD-47100-2
When we think of popular ‘soul-jazz’ keyboard practitioners like Ramsey Lewis, Les McCann, along with the late Ray Charles and Richard Tee, we tend to forget Junior Mance, whose 1960-61 studio trio dates for Jazzland nearly fit on a single CD.
There are plenty of blues-based originals to prove that pianos can bend notes, although Mance generates even more steam and momentum in his unusually upbeat treatments of ‘Love for Sale’ and the title track, ‘Sweet and Lonely’.