backed musicians such as Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, and Sonny Stitt. New York City (1953–1959) Charlie Parker encouraged Mance to move to New York, which he did after saving money from working nearly a year at the Bee Hive. In 1954, Mance was asked to record with Dinah Washington after Wynton Kelly was drafted. Mance toured with Washington over the next two years and learned accompaniment technique from Washington's arranger, Jimmy Jones. EmArcy released two LPs, Dinah Jams and Jam Session, from a live session recorded August 14–15, 1954 in Los Angeles with Mance, Washington, Clifford Brown, Clark Terry, Maynard Ferguson, Herb Geller, Harold Land, Richie Powell, Keter Betts, George Morrow, and Max Roach. In 1956, Mance joined Cannonball Adderley's first civilian band, along with Nat Adderley, Sam Jones, and Jimmy Cobb. They made several recordings for EmArcy/Mercury over the next two years. Dinah Washington hired this group to back her on In the Land of Hi-Fi, and Mance also recorded sessions with Johnny Griffin, James Moody, and Wilbur Ware for Argo Records and Riverside during this period. After the Adderley group broke up for lack of gigs, Adderley became part of the Miles Davis Sextet, while Mance joined Dizzy Gillespie's band, once again replacing Wynton Kelly. Mance backed Gillespie and Louis Armstrong during a televised performance of the song "Umbrella Man" on CBS in January 1959. Debut as leader and later career (1959–2016) Verve Records founder Norman Granz offered Mance his first recording date as leader during one of his sessions with Dizzy Gillespie. Granz set Mance up with bassist Ray Brown, and Gillespie's drummer Lex Humphries completed the trio, which recorded together in April 1959. His debut record Junior was released by Verve later that year. A busy release schedule followed, as Mance went on to record six albums for Jazzland/Riverside in the early '60s, and joined the Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis/Johnny Griffin quintet which released seven albums with Mance during 1960–1961. Mance recorded for major labels Capitol (1964–1965) and Atlantic (1966–1970), including one date featuring Mance on harpsichord (Harlem Lullaby, 1966) and a fusion album (With a Lotta Help from My Friends, 1970). During a recording session with Benny Carter for the soundtrack to the film A Man Called Adam in 1965, Carter and Mance took in all three sets of an Ornette Coleman performance at the Five Spot Café. Mance cited Carter's broad-mindedness as