Herbie Mann - Our Mann Flute / Impressions Of The Middle East (2001)

The melodic and swinging flute of Herbie Mann is as familiar to jazz fans in such widely separate cities of the world as Tokyo, Stockholm and Rio de Janeiro, as it is to denizens of key jazz clubs from New York to San Francisco. During the past decade Herbie Mann and his flute have visited every continent on this globe and performed in a score of countries throughout the world. One entire wall of his New York apartment is clustered with flutes of various sizes, shapes and dimensions, mementos of his many trips abroad. He can play them all with the same warmth, drive and intensity that he pours into his own native American instrument.
Herbie Mann's trips to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America have brought him in contact with many varied styles of music. He has brought back with him a great many of these exotic musical forms and sounds and has developed them into solid musical trends in the United States. He helped spur the great interest in Afro-Cuban music among both jazz and pop musicians through the swinging Afro-Cuban arrangements he featured with his first big band. He brought the Bossa Nova back from Brazil and was largely responsible for making Bossa Nova the biggest musical trend of the early 1960's. He has helped popularize Middle Eastern music, Israeli music, native African songs, and music from South America during his lively and exciting career.
New musical styles and fresh ideas are the trademark of Herbie Mann. Both his band and his book undergo constant change through his ceaseless quest for new ways to express himself and his music. Yet through all the changes one thing remains constant: the provocative sound of Herbie Mann's flute. On this new album Herbie Mann displays more of his exciting flute sound as he continues to explore the music of today and tomorrow.
— From the original liner notes by Bob Rolontz