Cary Ginell

Herbie Solomon, known as Herbie Mann, made room for the flute as a lead instrument in jazz, and went to the sources of world music to offer a taste of many cultures. Herbie Mann could play bebop with the best of them, but was interested in exploring other subgenres of jazz, and music from all over the world. The flautist went through phases, notably Brazilian bossa nova, and Afro-Cuban before that, both of those before Middle Eastern, Japanese, R&B, and, infamously, disco, among others.

Like Yusef Lateef, Mann played many different instruments, including handmade flutes of various materials. The tenor saxophone was part of his early career, and one constant through the remainder was the alto flute. His compositions evoke different images, emotions or experiences. Mann was a prolific recording artist, with Atlantic Records for most of his career, and two separate attempts at his own label.

The author makes good use of DownBeat reviews and other related sources. Part of the subject’s goal was to be both artistic and commercially successful, an act he was able to balance. He did pay his band better than other band leaders were doing at the time. However, some of his fellow musicians were critical, not openly but among themselves, of Mann’s musicianship. He always found out what was popular at the time, not only to sell more records, but to provide a “point of reference” to draw in more listeners. On his African tour, they played the first song, “Caravan,” in three styles, and whichever got the best response was used for the rest of the set. Although he scouted out bossa nova in Brazil, Stan Getz beat him to introducing this style in North America: because one of his live albums was still doing so well, the record company delayed releasing his first bossa nova album.

The author of “The Evolution of Mann” also plays flute, so you can see where some of the interest came from to make this biography. I didn’t know much about Herbie Mann, and while this book doesn’t reveal too much about the Mann himself, it gives a comprehensive review of his discography and public performances.

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