Herbie Mann has died

[mikeb]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/0...n.ap/index.html

RIP -- you will be missed ...

[Templejazz]

Another striking loss to the music world.

RIP

[mgraham333]

SANTA FE, N.M., July 2 — Herbie Mann, the versatile jazz flutist who combined a variety of musical styles and deeply influenced genres such as world music and fusion, has died. He was 73.

Same article on MSNBC

Edited July 2, 2003 by mgraham333

[Jazzmoose]

I know Mann didn't really get the respect that a lot of jazz artists received, but personally, I think he leaves some big shoes to fill.

[mikeweil]

I do not know many others who were so much without prejudice against any type of music. Mann was the first or among the first jazz musicians to record with Brazilian, African, Turkish, Armenian musicians. As another musician told me who didn't particularly like him for his more commercial outings: "He introduced some good people!" He gave Sonny Sharrock a gig and a record date when he almost starved. He was always sincere in what he did, no matter if it was a tribute to Bill Evans or the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Team. I always dug him, and I still do. He really leaves some very big shoes to fill. A real world musician.

R.I.P.

[Soul Stream]

Oddly enough, this made my local T.V. news... Must be a Herbie Mann fan on the production staff.

These passings are getting extremely rapid.

[catesta]

I'm sad to here this.

I remember my Dad listening to a "Memphis Underground" 8-Track non stop while on a road trip.

It's the only Mann CD I have.

[Harold_Z]

Herbie Mann has a been a Jazz name almost as long as I can remember - I'm very sorry to hear of his passing.

[chris olivarez]

He may have done some cheesy things but anyone who recorded extensively as Herbie was entitled to a couple of duds and the good far outweighed the bad.

Herbie surrounded himself with great musicians-Dave Pike, Chick Corea,Attilla Zoeller,Sonny Sharrock,Roy Ayers,Willie Bobo and Patato Valdez are just a few that come to mind and Herbie was a damn find musician himself.I'm going to miss him a ton.

[brownie]

This is the Herbie Mann obituary in Thursday's The New York Times.

Herbie Mann, Musician Who Gave Flute a Jazz Sound, Dies at 73

BY PETER KEEPNEWS

Herbie Mann, who helped to popularize the flute as a jazz instrument and to

introduce the music of other cultures into the mainstream of American jazz,

died on Tuesday at his home in New Mexico. He was 73 and lived in a cabin

in Pecos, near Santa Fe.

The cause was prostate cancer, his family said.

Mr. Mann's first instrument was the clarinet, and when he began his career he

was primarily a tenor saxophonist. But by the late 1950's he was concentrating

on flute, which was almost unheard of as a choice for a jazz musician

at the time.

Within a decade, the flute had become far more common in jazz. Much of the

credit for its higher profile belonged to Mr. Mann, who by then had achieved a

degree of popularity extending well beyond the confines of the jazz world, largely

because of his willingness to look beyond that world for inspiration.

In 1962, he became one of the first American jazz artists to embrace Brazilian

music and work with Brazilian musicians, recording an album with Antonio Carlos

Jobim, Sergio Mendes and others. He later incorporated elements of African,

Japanese and Middle Eastern music into his repertory.

American blues and soul were also part of the mix. His live recording of

"Comin' Home Baby," an up-tempo blues with an infectious dance beat, was

a hit in 1962. Later in the decade he expanded his audience with

albums like "Memphis Underground," on which his working group was

supplemented by Southern session musicians; the repertory had a contemporary rhythm-and-blues flavor.

The critics, for the most part, were not impressed. "To most jazz critics I was

basically Kenny G," he said in an interview with United Press International last year,

referring to the highly popular but critically maligned saxophonist. "I was too

successful. I made too much money. Alternate fringe audiences liked me too much."

In the 1970's Mr. Mann put even more distance between himself and the jazz

purists with albums whose titles — "Reggae," "Discothèque," "London Underground" —

were often self-explanatory. He had two singles in Billboard magazine's Top 40,

"Hijack" in 1975 and "Superman" in 1979.

Mr. Mann had recently been devoting more time to playing the Brazilian jazz and

bebop that formed the core of his repertory early in his career. But while he

sometimes expressed regrets about what he called "accommodating the market,"

he never entirely disavowed his more commercial work. "I made disco records,"

he said. "Some of them I liked, some of them I hated."

Born Herbert Jay Solomon in Brooklyn on April 16, 1930, Mr. Mann had his first

clarinet lesson at 9, soon mastered saxophone and flute, and began performing

while stationed in Italy with the United States Army in the early 50's. After being

discharged in 1953, he worked with the Dutch jazz accordionist Matt Mathews and the

arranger Pete Rugolo before going out on his own, first as a freelance soloist and

then, in 1959, as the leader of his own group, the Afro-Jazz Sextet.

Mr. Mann toured extensively in the 60's, traveling to Africa under the auspices of

the State Department as well as to Japan, Europe and Latin America.

After recording for Savoy, Verve and other labels, he began a long association

with Atlantic Records in 1960, and a decade later he undertook a second career

as a record producer and executive for the short-lived Atlantic subsidiary Embryo.

In the early 1980's, after leaving Atlantic, he started his own label, Herbie Mann

Music. He later briefly ran another label, Kokopelli.

Mr. Mann was an astute talent scout. Over the years he hired a number of young

musicians who later became stars, among them the pianist Chick Corea and the

vibraphonist Roy Ayers.

His last album, finished a few weeks before his death, was a collaboration

with the alto saxophonist Phil Woods.

Mr. Mann learned five years ago that he had prostate cancer. Shortly after receiving

the diagnosis, he established the Herbie Mann Prostate Cancer Awareness Music

Foundation and began giving concerts at which he offered free screening to

all men in attendance between 40 and 75.

He is survived by his wife, Susan Janeal Arison; a son, Geoffrey, who played drums

in his band Sona Terra; another son, Paul; two daughters, Claudia Mann-Basler

and Laura Mann; his mother, Ruth Solomon; and a sister, Judy Bernstein.

After four decades of multicultural exploration, Mr. Mann finally got around to the

music of his own Jewish heritage in 2000 when he recorded "Eastern European Roots,"

an album of traditional songs and new compositions.

"I wanted this to be my musical statement above all the rest," he said last year.

"I love `Memphis Underground.' I loved the Brazilian music I played. But this is

finally me. For the first time I think it's really me."

As far as I am concerned, Mann did his best strictly jazz contributions early in his

career. His albums with the New York Jazz Quartet (with Mat Mathews, Joe Puma

and Whitey Mitchell) should be reissued. His two Riverside albums and the duets

with Bobby Jaspar for Prestige are really worth a hearing. And there are many

more from this era.

He obviously gained financial success when he started recording for Atlantic but

those albums were less satisfying for their jazz content. Even the

Mann-Bill Evans album never reached the Nirvana its title implied.

But he gave playing opportunities to quite a number of very worthy players.

Jazz considerations apart, he seemed to have led an interesting and generous

life.

[catesta]

Much to my surprise the passing of Mann was mentioned on the local news here.

[JSngry]

Gotta give the guy MAJOR props for being a supporter, nurturer, and most importantly, an EMPLOYER of a HELLUVA lot of significant players, as well as for being one of those guys who drew an audience from outside the hardcore jazz buffs. Even if only a small percentage of that audience took the bait, that's nothing to sneeze at.

One measure of his renown outside the jazz world - I was listening to KLIF-AM (the mightly 1190!) one early evening waaaayyy back in the day, when the DJ, Michael Selden, played an advance copy of Eric Burdon/War's "Spill The Wine". After it was finished, Selden, always a "music" kinda DJ (ready-made for Underground FM, he was!), started rapping about what a fresh, new sound War had, how Burdon had hooked up w/them, and all the other schmoozy stuff that made listeners feel hip and label promo guys happy. "There's a flute on there, as you heard. I don't know who it is. Maybe it's Herbie Mann...". Herbie Mann was a big enough name to be a given amongst listeners of "hip" top 40 (MEMPHIS UNDERGROUND had been a HUGE hit, remember). So the reports of his death making all these local news shows doesn't really surprise me!

Plus, the guy COULD play. I remember being on a road gig one weekend in the very early 80s, and the local PBS affliate in whatever town we were in was playing some jazz festival show on a Saturday afternoon. Herbie's band came on, and we were all kinda, "ehhhh, whatever". but the cat opened up with a really nice, mellow version of "Makin' Whoopie", and just caressed that melody like nobody's business. The rest of the show was erratic, but that one number alone made the afternoon go by a lot more pleasantly.

Go In Peace, Herbie. You done good.

[sidewinder]

Very sorry to hear this. Not a great fan of the later Atlantics but I did like his Village Gate recording and the earlier work on Riverside with Charlie Byrd. The news got quite high profile for a jazz obit here in the UK - mentioned on BBC Ceefax (text headlines) and also in the international news-in-brief in today's 'Daily Telegraph'. I'll have to dig out the Charlie Byrd Milestone twofer later on in recognition of his work.

R.I.P.

[mikeweil]

... the earlier work on Riverside with Charlie Byrd. I'll have to dig out the Charlie Byrd Milestone twofer later on in recognition of his work.

As far as I know they never recorded together. Did you just mixup the two old Milestone twofers on Herbie Mann and Charlie Byrd? Joe Puma played guitar on one of Herbie's Riverside sessions. There is some Wallace Mann playing flute on "Byrd In The Wind", but I doubt this is Herbie - can anyone confirm?

[Guest GregM]

Has anyone heard his relatively recent "Eastern European Roots" album? Not too jazzy from what I understand, but I'd be interested in comments. Sad to see him go.

[sidewinder]

As far as I know they never recorded together. Did you just mixup the two old Milestone twofers on Herbie Mann and Charlie Byrd?

You're right - for some reason I've confused these two twofer sets. Similar in style and vintage I guess. Ah well, an excuse to play them both !

:rsly:

[Alexander]

I've heard very little Herbie Mann, although I do have at least one recording with him as a side-man (Sarah Vaughn with Clifford Brown, I think). Which album was the one with that ungodly picture of a bear-chested (or perhaps even nude) Mann? Possibly one of my least favorite album covers of all time.

[Kari S]

Which album was the one with that ungodly picture of a bear-chested (or perhaps even nude) Mann? Possibly one of my least favorite album covers of all time.

It was Push, Push...