Jack Mancor
Jack Mancor is a Melbourne born, self taught singer, songwriter, storyteller and contemporary folk musician. With his second album "Black Top Blues" featuring the talents of Dave Steel, Matiss Schubet, Ruth Hazleton, to name but a few of the musicians on the album…It’s time to grease up the bearings ready to hit the road in October as part of his Black Top Blues Tour with support from the Australian Government Contemporary Music Touring Program.
“…Jack Mancor is the quintessential ‘one man band’… a troubadour who plays a plethora of instruments, writes in an earthy blend of folk/roots styles and sings his songs in a voice made for the genre…”
Forte Magazine
Jack’s original style of contemporary roots music is based on Australian and North American folk traditions. Having grown up in various parts of Australia to immigrant parents from whom he inherited a strong social conscience. He has developed a sense of the past, a love of the country and its people. Jack songs strike a chord in people who are aware of the present day problems of our world but also hold a hope for a fairer and brighter future. Jack has a natural ability to interprate life experiences through the eyes of everyday people with honest and poetic lyrics. His songs are inspired by the struggles, the laughter and the love of working people. Supported by consistently competent acoustic guitar playing in flat picking, finger picking and bottle-neck style.
“ Jack is very much in the tradition of Woody Guthrie, very political songs, great lyrics
and great sentiments…” Richard Fields, 3CR Radio
Drawing on established folk, roots, country and blues styles, Jack carries on the oral storytelling tradition by producing contemporary songs that are uniquely his own. Drawing inspiration from a variety of traditional and contemporary musician’s including; Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, Greg Brown, Guy Davis, Muddy Waters, Paul Kelly, Slim Dusty… realizing that he is just a link in the long and continuing chain of people that sing about life from the coal face, the perspective of the people.
Looking back, Jack appeared in the recent Ned Kelly film, playing Mandolin on the traditional Australian song Moreton Bay, alongside Bernard Fanning and John Bedggood. He has played numerous gigs throughout Australia, performed at Yackandandah Folk Festival, National Folk Alliance Convention, Maldon Folk Festival, Mount Beauty Music Festival and the Folk, Rhythm and Life Festival.
Jack is currently gearing up for the Black Top Blues tour which will take in urban and regional areas throughout Vic, NSW, ACT and Qld. He will be performing in cities, small towns and festivals. While continuing to work in his trade as a Mechanical Fitter, Jack’s current focus is to write, sing and play music. Nurturing his true craft, as a songwriter and musician.