Herbie Mann -

Herbie Mann (April 16, 1930 — July 1, 2003) was an American jazz flutist, multi-reedist, bandleader, and producer. He recorded prolifically for Atlantic through the 1960s and 1970s with rotating guests that included Chick Corea, Roy Ayers, Sonny Sharrock, Larry Coryell, Miroslav Vitous, and Duane Allman.

Mann moved from bop-based small-group jazz toward Afro-Latin and Brazilian settings through the early 1960s on Flute Soufflé, Flautista!, Herbie Mann at the Village Gate, and Do the Bossa Nova with Herbie Mann. He embraced soul, R&B, rock, and exotic influences on his 1966–73 albums Impressions of the Middle East, Memphis Underground, Push Push, and Turtle Bay. From 1974 onward, Mann utilized Jamaican rhythms, Brazilian material, and funk on London Underground, Reggae, Brazil: Once Again, Super Mann, and Astral Island.

Background

Herbie Mann was born Herbert Jay Solomon on April 16, 1930, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Mann began clarinet at age nine after his mother took him to hear Benny Goodman at the Paramount Theatre in Brooklyn. As a teenager, he added tenor saxophone and flute and played tenor at Catskills resort jobs while attending Abraham Lincoln High School. After graduation, Mann entered the U.S. Army in 1948 and spent most of his service in Trieste, Italy, with the 98th Army Band.

In Trieste, Mann played piccolo in the marching band and joined small jazz groups with fellow servicemen and local musicians. After his 1952 discharge, Mann returned to New York and studied saxophone, clarinet, and flute at Manhattan School of Music.

Mann initially pursued tenor saxophone work in New York. A drummer from a small Flatbush Avenue club group recommended him in 1953 to Dutch accordionist Mat Mathews, who wanted a flutist for a new combo. Mann told Mathews that his flute was under repair and learned the arrangements on saxophone and clarinet. He worked out the flute parts at home from Sam Most’s “Undercurrent Blues.”

In January 1953, Mathews hired Mann for the quintet. Mathews recorded Mann with guitarist Benny Weeks, bassist Percy Heath, and drummer Kenny Clarke on April 29 for Brunswick. The session produced “Owl Eyes,” “Study in Purple,” “There’s a Small Hotel,” and “Laura.” Mann remained with Mathews through September 1954 and played Birdland with the quintet.

In late 1954, Mann appeared on albums by Carmen McRae (Carmen McRae), Pete Rugolo (Rugolomania), Paul Quinichette (Moods), and Sarah Vaughan (Sarah Vaughan), later reissued as Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown. The Vaughan sessions also included trumpeter Brown, tenor saxophonist Quinichette, pianist Jimmy Jones, bassist Joe Benjamin, and drummer Roy Haynes.

Bethlehem A&R director Creed Taylor recorded Mann with guitarist Benny Weeks, bassist Keith Hodgson, and drummer Lee Rockey in New York that December for East Coast Jazz/4, Mann’s first album.

Discography:

Sultry Serenade (1957)
Yardbird Suite (1957)
Flute Soufflé (1957 • Herbie Mann / Bobby Jaspar)
Flute Flight (1958 • Herbie Mann and Bobby Jaspar)
Flautista! Herbie Mann Plays Afro-Cuban Jazz (1959)
Herbie Mann’s African Suite (1959 • Johnny Rae’s Afro Jazz Septet)
Just Wailin’ (1959 • Herbie Mann, Charlie Rouse, Kenny Burrell, Mal Waldron)
The Common Ground (1960)
Brazil, Bossa Nova and Blues (1962)
Do the Bossa Nova With Herbie Mann (1963)
Latin Fever (1964)
Nirvana (1964 • Herbie Mann & The Bill Evans Trio)
Herbie Mann & Joao Gilberto with Antonio Carlos Jobim: Recorded in Rio de Janeiro (1965)
Latin Mann: Afro to Bossa to Blues (1965)
Today (1966)
Our Mann Flute (1966)
Glory of Love (1967)
Impressions of the Middle East (1967)
The Beat Goes On (1967)
Windows Opened (1968)
Memphis Underground (1969)
Concerto Grosso in D Blues (1969)
Stone Flute (1970)
Muscle Shoals Nitty Gritty (1970)
Memphis Two-Step (1971)
Push Push (1971)
Mississippi Gambler (1972)
Turtle Bay (1973)
London Underground (1974)
Reggae (1974)
Discotheque (1975)
Waterbed (1975)
Surprises (1976)
Gagaku and Beyond (1976)
Bird in a Silver Cage (1977)
Herbie Mann & Fire Island (1977)
Brazil: Once Again (1978)
Super Mann (1979)