Junior Mance discusses his mother's encouragement

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Junior Mance discusses his musical family

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Junior Mance discusses his early influences

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Q: “Was your family musical?”

A: Junior Mance: “Not really, my father played for his own enjoyment by ear.”

Interviewer: “Piano?”

Junior Mance: “Yes, Stride piano, you know. But when I started taking lessons, he stopped. He never touched the piano again.”

Interviewer: “Oh, really?”

Junior Mance: “Yeah, but he wasn't, you know, actually good enough to play professionally. He is the type, you know, who comes home from work and then sits down and plays a few stride or ragtime things, you know. I don't know. One of his friends was a piano teacher. I never took lessons from this guy, but that's how his interest was stimulated in it and this guy showed him a few things, but there were no other musicians in our family.”