Jazz flutist Herbie Mann, who became an international success by marrying Brazilian and African rhythms to mainstream jazz, has died at the age of 73 after a long battle with prostate cancer, a business associate said today (July 2).
The Brooklyn-born Mann, who started off as a tenor sax player in the style of Lester Young but switched to flute when he got a job with a Dutch jazz band, died in New Mexico, where he was a resident in recent years.
In 1958 he formed his own group and added a conga player, becoming an international success with records like “Herbie Mann at the Village Gate,” “Do the Bossa Nova with Herbie Mann” and “Herbie Mann/Joao Gilberto/Antonio Carlos Jobim,” which helped to usher in the Bossa Nova craze.
Over the past few years, Mann remained active despite his illness. Since 1998, he worked with a new group, Sona Terra, which featured his son Geoff on drums and mandolin. The artist also formed a non-profit organization, the Herbie Mann Prostate Cancer Awareness Music Foundation, to foster research into new treatments for the disease.
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