Harold Mabern

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Harold Mabern (2012)

Harold Mabern (born March 20, 1936 in Memphis , Tennessee , † September 19, 2019 in New Jersey ) was an American jazz pianist .

Life

At the age of 16 he started learning the piano as a self-taught artist , naming Bill Lee, George Coleman , Phineas Newborn , Chris Anderson and Ahmad Jamal as influences . “I never had a piano lesson. Most of the technique I have comes from constant playing that I practiced every day and tried to play fast. ”His technique combined many stylistic features of previous jazz epochs.

Admired next to Charles Thomas, Phineas Newborn became his mentor in Memphis and he orientated himself on contemporary musicians from Memphis such as George Coleman, Frank Strozier , Booker Little , Garnett Brown , Charles Lloyd , Louis Smith and Calvin Newborn . Influences came from Nat King Cole and John Coltrane .

He was educated at Manassas High School by Matthew Garrett. From 1964 in Chicago by Ahmad Jamal, Billy Wallace , Chris Anderson and Bill Lee, with whom he recorded his debut album on bass.

Act

In the late 1950s he starred in Chicago with Walter Perkins ' MJT Plus 3, alongside Strozier. He also made the soulful "crispness" (funkyness) of the blues his own. In Chicago he worked hard to develop piano skills to a level that would enable him to cope with any assignment as a musician.

For the next ten years he was a busy companion of Harry Edison , Lionel Hampton , 1959, Terri Quaye , JJ Johnson , 1963-65, Joe Williams and 1965 with Wes Montgomery on a European tour, on whose recordings he can be heard as a sideman , as well as on recordings with Lee Morgan and Art Farmer . He played with Benny Golson in 1961/62 and with Miles Davis in 1963 . Furthermore with Sarah Vaughn , from 1967, Dakota Staton , Irene Reid and Arthur Pryscock. In 1968 his own album "A Few Miles To Memphis" was released. In the late 1960s he played with Rahsaan Roland Kirk , Sonny Rollins , Freddie Hubbard . 1973/74 in the Walter Bolden Trio in New York, then with Tiny Grimes , George Coleman, Clark Terry and Joe Newman . In 1975 he was a guest at the Newport / New York Festival. In 1977 he formed the rhythm section for trumpeters Jimmy Owens , Bill Hardman and Ted Curson at the Tribute To Clifford Brown concert with Chris White on bass and Warren Smith on drums . He toured Japan in 1977 with Billy Harper and Europe in 1981 with George Coleman.

A good radio opportunity arose for his solo performance with recordings at the Café des Copains in Toronto , Canada.

Mabern's stylistic range was wide, he was a dynamic companion, mastered an earthy blues game, interpreted standards as stride and virtuoso, he harmonized interestingly with the accompaniment of the left and imitated the orchestration and effects of a big band . He always placed emphasis on improvisation after preparing pieces.

In 1960 Mabern settled in New York and was a sought-after freelance musician there in the 1970s. He taught there two days a week at William Patterson College, made solo appearances for the radio with a mixed repertoire: pop songs, e.g. B. Stevie Wonder , jazz standards and bluesy pieces.

Mabern belonged 1970 Stanley Cowell's Piano Choir and 1993/94 the Contemporary Piano Ensemble by James Williams with Geoffrey Keezer , Donald Brown and Mulgrew Miller . From the 2000s he worked frequently with Eric Alexander or in trio constellations, for example with John Webber and Joe Farnsworth . He made his last appearance in April 2018 in Memphis, when he was honored at the Institute for Music at Rhodes College.

Discography (selection)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b John Beifuss: Memphis jazz great Harold Mabern has died. Commercial Appeal, September 19, 2019, accessed September 20, 2019 .
  2. ^ Brian Morton, Richard Cook: The Penguin Jazz Guide: The History of the Music in the 1000 Best Albums. Penguin UK 2010, ISBN 0-141-95900-2 , Part 2, 1966-1970.
  3. ↑ Mike Shanley: Harold Mabern: The Accompanist ( Memento November 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). In: JazzTimes , April 2003
  4. ^ John S. Davis: Historical Dictionary of Jazz. Scarecrow Press 2012, ISBN 0-810-86757-5 , p. 225.
  5. ↑ allmusic.com. Retrieved August 24, 2014 .
personal data
SURNAME Mabern, Harold
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz pianist
DATE OF BIRTH March 20, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Memphis , Tennessee
DATE OF DEATH 19th September 2019
Place of death New Jersey