• Track Listing

AVID Jazz here presents three classic Junior Mance albums including original LP liner notes on a finely re-mastered and low priced double CD. 'Junior'; 'The Soulful Piano of Junior Mance'; 'At the Village Vanguard' and 7 of 9 tracks from 'Big Chief' Welcome to the natural unforced piano stylings of Junior Mance. Recorded in New York in 1959 'Junior' finds Mance in the company of Lex Humphries on drums and the inimitable Ray Brown on bass. Junior has a new trio for the 1960 date "The Soulful Piano of Junior Mance'. Joining him are Ben Tucker on bass and Bobby Thomas on drums who form a tightly knit trio as evidenced in the mere 2 ½ hours it took them to record the album! February 1961 saw the club debut of a new Junior Mance Trio at the Village Vanguard. Alongside Junior was bassist Larry Gibbs and drummer Ben Riley both on 'loan' from the bands of Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis and Johnny Griffin. The Mance Trio, having played with all the above musicians as a quintet was able to create it's own strong impression, as noted in the original liner notes 'he may not have a big band but he does have a very big trio'. 'Big Chief' recorded in New York in 1961 finds Mance in another trio with Jimmy Rowse on bass and Paul Gusman on drums. On this set the trio play the music of WC Handy and Thelonious Monk. All four albums have been digitally re-mastered.