On the kitchen counter, an illuminated pimento rests in an oversized martini glass. In his sitting room, a heart-shaped sculpture throws a sexy red haze over the floor.

And in Mancuso's favorite spot, his living room, neon signs and trim bounce off the silver walls, giving it the look and feel of an art deco lounge.

"I came from a nightclub life —going to all the jazz clubs — so I try to keep this like a little nightclub," says the author and Buffalo State College professor, whose course in jazz and rock foundations has been one of the hottest tickets on campus for more than two decades. "I'm surrounding myself with the things I love."

As a teenager, Mancuso spent entire afternoons holed up in the college's Grosvenor library, scouring back is-sues of Downbeat magazine. While an undergraduate at Buffalo State, he penned a column for the student newspaper titled "Jazz With Chazz." Before he got his driver's license, he made regular bus pilgrimages to New York City's legendary 52nd Street.

A blown up photo of so-called Swing Street figures prominently in Mancuso's living room, along with posters of two of his heroes, Billie Holiday and Robert Johnson. In the middle of the wall, just above his cream leather couch, there's an original promotional poster of the movie "Chinatown," which Mancuso teaches in a course on film noir.

And there, to the right, dominating one side of the room, are his LPs. Shortly after moving into the three-story Victorian in 1975, Mancuso designed a veritable wall of sound for the living room: wall-to-wall shelving to house his mixer, stereo and the bulk of his 10,000-piece record collection.

"I knew I wanted it white, because it's that whole deco thing that I love. And I knew I was putting neon in above it," he says. "I wanted everything to look like it was floating."

Nearby, offset by a circular black and white carpet, stands a miniature, 44-key Wurlitzer piano, a family heirloom. "It was getting a little expensive to get fresh-cut flowers in the off-season," he says, referring to the silk calla lilies arranged in a vase on top. "When I have a party, of course, I'll put the fresh flowers in."

A former guard for Buffalo State's basketball team and still active in local masters leagues, Mancuso is known for his parties. He hosts all different types, from student receptions to intimate martini soirees and an annual birthday bash with a guest list of 300.

At one of his famous gatherings, Mancuso transformed his living room into a working nightdub. It wasn't entirely by design, mind you. In 1992 he had organized an end-of-theschool-year campus concert featuring cabaret singer John Wallowich. That afternoon he learned that Buff State had to cancel the gig.

With Wallowich already in town, Mancuso was determined that the show would go on. "I had four hours to figure out what to do," he recalls. "I pushed the furniture away, rented a piano from Illos, and had a couple of people put up posters on lampposts that said, `Concert moved to Mancuso's.' "

"What a performer," he says with a sentimental sigh. 'We had people standing everywhere. It was one of the great nights of my life."

Of course, that neon added to the atmosphere.

"I go over the top with it," Mancuso admits. "But I promise, no beer signs."