Career
Born Jochen Ment in 1923, he became a successful musician in Hamburg, Germany, showing proficiency on accordion and saxophone. He also toured with Hause"s popular tango orchestra. Ment was active as a session musician in Hamburg, playing for many popular recording acts.
During the 1960s, the big band popular sounds of Bert Kaempfert and James Last became popular throughout Europe and eventually around the world.
Many imitation acts sprang up, and Jochen Ment led one of them. Signed to the German Ariola label, he recorded under the name Jo Ment and used many of the same musicians as Kaempfert and Last.
Ment"s albums were not as original as those of his mentors, but they were popular and sold well. In the 1980s, the big band popular sound lost popularity.
He was regularly featured as an accordion soloist on the popular live numbers "Biscaya" and "Jigs and Reels".
