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Junior Mance - Piano Jazz from a Hard Bop Hall of Fame

Jazz at Pearl's
San Francisco, CA

"[He gave] the kind of electrifying performance that is chalked up permanently in the memories of everyone who heard it. A performance that is looked back on in wonder as the years go by." -John S. Wilson, New York Times, reviewing a concert by Junior Mance

In 1947, when 19-year-old pianist Junior Mance left Roosevelt College in Chicago to join the band of soul/jazz tenor giant Gene Ammons, he was leaping into what would become a fabulous career amidst the greats of the bebop/hard bop universe, musicians with names like Young and Gillespie. In fact, Mance would soon attain all-star status himself, and in 1997 he was inducted into the International Jazz Hall of Fame.

Soulful and swinging, Junior Mance has forged a bluesy, dextrous, audience-pleasing style that never lacks for excitement or emotional depth. He comes to Pearl's for a wonderful 3-night stay, fronting an exhilarating trio featuring cool-hand rhythm man Mike Zisman on bass and daring percussion virtuoso Akira Tana on drums.

" . . . [T]here is in [Mance's] work at all times a joy of creation, a sense of spontaneity and pleasure that most jazz enthusiasts still feel must be a part of any meaningful performance."
-Legendary jazz writer Leonard Feather

After spending two years in Gene Ammons' band, Junior Mance, still only 21, began a 14-year journey that found him touring with the likes of Lester Young, Dizzy Gillespie and Dinah Washington, serving in the 36th U.S. Army Band alongside Cannonball Adderley, and anchoring the house band at the Bee Hive Jazz Club in Chicago, accompanying stars like jazz Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Sonny Stitt.

In 1961, Junior Mance finally formed his own trio. He's been recording and performing, both as a leader and alongside the great powerhouses of the jazz world, ever since. It's no exaggeration to say that Mance is a musician who has the entire history of modern jazz dancing amidst every phrase and every note he plays. Don't miss the return Pearl's engagement of this amazing jazz piano legend.

Read more at www.juniormance.com.

Note: TICKET TIERS FOR THIS SHOW Show Ticket: Sold in advance online and by phone. Includes guaranteed seating AND show ticket for our first or second show for arrival before curtain. 2 beverage minimum. Cash only. ATM on premises. VIP Ticket: Sold in advance online and by phone. Includes tickets to both shows, front of line access, instant seating, chilled bottle of champagne waiting at your table (included in price), reserved VIP table for both shows (stay at your table), CD of act with autograph. No beverage minimum.

Kid Friendly: No

Dog Friendly: No

Non-Smoking: No

Wheelchair Accessible: No

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