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Chuck Manning

Anyone who has been involved with the Los Angeles jazz scene over the last quarter century doesn‘t need to ask, but if you haven’t, you‘ve been missing out and you’re in for a long overdue treat with this release of his first solo CD. Saxophonist Chuck Manning is not new to recording-he has made dozens of appearances and collaborations with other musicians such as the Los Angeles Quartet, and his long-time collaboration with Swiss multi-instrumentalist Isla Eckinger. Chuck Manning’s new CD “Note’s from the Real” “…is a great one” writes the LAWeekly. “Manning is a fine inventive tenor player. With Joe Henderson as his baseline, he plays a gorgeous ballad, can blow some brilliant and slightly understated post -bop frenzy, and can lay out the bop lines fresh”.

The Chuck Manning Quartet has recently returned from a successful tour in Europe to promote his latest TCB Music (The Monteux Jazz Label) “Notes from the Real” which showcases the talents of Jim Szilagyi (Gabor Szabo, Teddy Edwards, Shelly Manne) on piano, Isla Eckinger (Dexter Gordon, Mal Waldron, Philly Joe Jones) on bass, and Tim Pleasant (Ralph Lalama, Jaki Byard, George Coleman) on drums. The LAWeekly writes. “When he’s leading his own quartet his horn is set so beautifully inside the understated arrangements that you can almost miss just how brilliant and even edgy his ideas can be….solos build upon wholly original ideas, and whose book is made up of tunes you don't hear played everywhere else”.

This CD captures the feel of the great quartets of the 50’s and 60’s. It has a emotional impact that is personal yet modern and displays Manning’s cocktail of musical influences including John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Joe Henderson, Bobby Bradford, Sonny Rollins, North Indian Classical flautist Pannalal Ghosh; if he’s heard it and liked it, it‘s likely to show up in his playing. But it’s mostly its all Manning: smart, inventive solos exploring themes and tones inside and a little bit out, returning to a perfectly logical place.

Chuck has performed or recorded with such diverse musicians as Alan Broadbent, Alphonse Mouzon, Bill Cunliffe, Bobby Bradford, Carl Burnett, Cedar Walton, Charlie Haden, Conte Condoli, Darek Oles, Eric Reed, Eric Von Essen, Frank Strazzeri, Fransisco Aguabella, Harold Land, Horace Tapscott, James Carney, Jimmy Rowles, Joe LaBarbara, Larance Marable, Larry Gales, Larry Koonse, Nels Cline, Phil Upchurch, Putter Smith, Ralph Alessi, Ralph Penland, Ramon Banda, Ravi Coltrane, Ray Armando,

Awards

Runner-up prize in the 1996 Cognac Hennessey Jazz Search Los Angeles Jazz Quartet and The James Carney Group

Gear

Selmer super-balanced, 8 Otto Link, 3 1/2 Vandoren Z


Tags

11
Album Review

Bobby Bradford and Friends: Stealin' Home: Jackie Robinson Suite

Read "Stealin' Home: Jackie Robinson Suite" reviewed by Chuck Koton


Born in Mississippi in 1934 and raised in Dallas, Texas, cornet master and composer Bobby Bradford knows racism and segregation. When asked if Texas was completely segregated, Bradford said, “If there's a word stronger than 'completely,' that was Texas." In spite of the hate and discrimination of everyday life in the Jim Crow South, Bradford and his family were tuned in to events around the country that impacted African Americans. They “got the news from the outside world" from Black ...

6
Album Review

Robby Krieger: The Ritual Begins At Sundown

Read "The Ritual Begins At Sundown" reviewed by Kyle Simpler


The Doors are one of the most iconic bands in rock music, and people who collect their albums have recently been treated to some special releases. The 50th anniversary release of Morrison Hotel (Elektra Catalog Group, 2020) features a remastered mix along with over an hour of bonus tracks. The latest Record Store Day drop featured a special stripped down reissue of their 1969 album The Soft Parade (Elektra Catalog Group, 2019), with all of the orchestration removed. These classic ...

8
Album Review

Los Angeles Jazz Quartet: Live at Jazz nad Odra

Read "Live at Jazz nad Odra" reviewed by Jim Worsley


In honor of their twenty-fifth anniversary, Los Angeles Jazz Quartet took the stage in Wroclaw, Poland to perform at the Jazz at Odra Festival. This recording is documentation that they know how to celebrate in style. Five originals and two reimagined classics were powerfully and charismatically presented to an attentive and appreciative audience by bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz, drummer Jason Harnell, saxophonist Chuck Manning and guitarist Larry Koonse. Manning came out of the gate pulsating and swinging to the ...

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"Essential listening for any local jazz listener. Manning is a fine inventive tenor player. With Joe Henderson as his baseline, he plays a gorgeous ballad, can blow some brilliant and slightly understated post-bop frenzy, and can lay out the bop lines fresh. His band is a great one, with Jim Szilagyi often matching him idea for idea. Drummer Tim Pleasant’s understated tapping and tippling and cymbal washes defy the written word. And this quartet’s unreleased album, Manning debut as a leader, is a great one.” - Brick Wahl, LAWeekly, December 22, 2006.

"Chuck has a bold sound and keen rhythmic sense". -Leonard Feather, Los Angeles Times.

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Primary Instrument

Saxophone, tenor

Location

Los Angeles

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

email: [email protected] for more info.

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Stealin' Home: Jackie...

Cryptogramophone
2022

buy

The Moment - Live At...

Dash Hoffman Records
2021

buy

The Ritual Begins At...

The Players Group
2020

buy

Live at Jazz nad Odra

Self Produced
2019

buy

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