HerbieMann

Herbie
Mann

Born: 4-16-1930
Died: 7-1-2003

.....of cancer.

    Herbie Mann began on clarinet when he was nine but was soon also playing flute and tenor. After serving in the Army, he was with Mat Mathews's Quintet (1953-54) and then started working and recording as a leader. During 1954-58 Mann stuck mostly to playing bop, sometimes collaborating with such players as Phil Woods, Buddy Collette, Sam Most, Bobby Jaspar and Charlie Rouse. He doubled on cool-toned tenor and was one of the few jazz musicians in the 1950's who recorded on bass clarinet; he also recorded in 1957 a full album (for Savoy) of unaccompanied flute.
    After spending time playing and writing music for television, in 1959 Mann formed his "Afro-Jazz Sextet," a group using several percussionists, vibes (either Johnny Rae, Hagood Hardy or Dave Pike) and the leader's flute. He toured Africa (1960) and Brazil (1961), had a hit with "Comin' Home Baby" and recorded with Bill Evans. The most popular jazz flutist during the era, Mann explored bossa nova (even recording in Brazil in 1962), incorporated music from many cultures (plus current pop tunes) into his repertoire and had among his sidemen such top young musicians as Willie Bobo, Chick Corea (1965), Attila Zoller and Roy Ayers; at the 1972 Newport Festival his sextet included David Newman and Sonny Sharrock. By then Mann had been a producer at Embroyo (a subsidiary of Atlantic) for three years and was frequently stretching his music outside of jazz. As the 1970's advanced, Mann became much more involved in rock, pop, reggae and even disco.
     1974's "Discoteque" would be his popular entree in the club world. The album fused his jazz flute with current day hits like "Lady Marmalade," "Pick Up The Pieces" and "I Won't Last A Day Without You." The real deal was his wildly successful "Hi-Jack." The song went 14 on Billboard's Pop charts but peaked at #-1 in many clubs. The album brought Mann to an entirely new audience, one who had never even heard of him before.
     Hot on the heels of "Discoteque" he released "Waterbed" to rave reviews. Besides the killer title track, "Body Oil" also received considerable club exposure. A pre-solo stardom Cissy Houston turns in a sultry version of "Violet Don't Be Blue." The album is rounded out with remakes of "I Got A Woman" and "Bang Bang."
     Continuing on his disco path he released "Bird In A Silver Cage" in 1976. In this case the disco music coming out of Germany was his inspiration. Co-producer and arranger Sylvester Levay, (the force behind) Silver Convention, surrounds Mann with a string ensemble from the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, provides an insistent disco beat, tacks on some inane background vocals and lets the flute master fly over top. The two standouts are the nearly thirteen minute title track and his own take on "Fly Robin, Fly/Birdwalk" at 8:40.
     "Herbie Mann And Fire Island" was harshly received by critics and, although disco by nature, wasn't embraced by the club set either. The album in retrospect is lush, tropical and well done, but reviewers seemed to judge it on jazz terms instead of it's dance appeal.
     1978's "Super Mann" is another commercial disco effort that finds Patrick Adams doing most of the producing. Judging Super Mann by disco standards, one hears an LP that is uneven and isn't in a class with Chic, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, or Sister Sledge but has its moments. While "Jisco Dazz" and "Rock Freak" are mechanical, stiff, and forgettable, Mann gets into a nice samba/disco groove on "Etagui" and demands attention with a speeded-up version of the haunting "Body Oil" (which he had previously recorded for 1975's "Waterbed"). A hit in dance clubs, "Superman" (Billboard Pop #-26) is one of those late 1970's disco numbers that is cheesy and campy, but fun and infectious nonetheless. The original was also a hit for Celi Bee & The Buzzy Bunch. This would be his last foray into the disco world.
     After leaving Atlantic at the end of the 1970's, Mann had his own label for awhile and gradually came back to jazz. He recorded for Chesky, made a record with Dave Valentin and in the 1990's founded the Kokopelli label on which before breaking away in 1996 he was free to pursue his wide range of musical interests. Through the years, he recorded as a leader for Bethlehem, Prestige, Epic, Riverside, Savoy, Mode, New Jazz, Chesky, Kokopelli and most significantly Atlantic. He passed away on July 1, 2003, following an extended battle with prostate cancer.