Harold Mabern - To Love And Be Loved (2017)

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Harold Mabern - To Love And Be Loved (2017)

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Legendary composer, arranger, pianist, educator, and leader Harold Mabern returns with another Smoke Sessions recording, the engaging album “To Love and Be Loved”. He brings a sextet of exceptional musicians featuring the fabulous tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, legendary drummer Jimmy Cobb of Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” fame, protean trumpet master Freddie Hendrix, and the facile double bassist Nat Reeves, with percussionist Cyro Baptista, in his only appearance, enlivening the song, “To Love and Be Loved”. Mixing up the musicians, Mabern uses quartet, quintet, and sextet sized configurations, and plus a mesmerizing solo piano performance. This recording also especially provides more examples of the power, invention, and empathy that is shown by the long-term Harold Mabern and Eric Alexander association which has enlivened so many wonderful recordings. Alexander and Hendrix were mentored by Mabern, among others, in their formative periods.

The mid-tempo, R&B flavored “To Love and Be Loved” goes beyond a cover as the group individualizes the song into their own creation. “If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You” is a mid tempo swinger where Mabern uses extended, propulsive block chords. Two notable uptempo numbers are “The Gigolo”, which is a modal 6/8 wonder and the straight ahead cooker “Inner Glimpse” where there are invigorating solos from Mabern, Alexander, and trumpeter Freddie Hendrix all pushed along relentlessly by Mabern’s comping, Reeves’ bass, and especially the slashing drums and extended solo by 88 year old Jimmy Cobb. The ballad “My Funny Valentine” has Mabern’s solo cleverly quoting “Windmills of Your Mind”, adding in a touch of dissonance, and making an allusion to Erroll Garner, all in one sparkling solo. Alexander’s solo is likewise a marvel. The mid-tempo, hard-swinging and bluesy “The Iron Man” finds Alexander in a wonderful Trane-ish mood as he lays down ‘sheets of sound’ before asserting his own individualistic tenor sax style.

The classic ”So What” uses the original Miles Davis ‘head’ (and drummer Cobb, over 50 years later) then the ensemble diverges into their own sped-up, swinging version, with a daring Hendrix acquitting himself very well in the Davis role, Mabern in homage to Bill Evans quotes a short, direct phrase from the original Evans solo. Mabern goes latin with an “I Get A Kick Out of You” that uses a long elaborate latin tenor sax-piano intro, a unique voicing of the tune, with Alexander jumping into the bridge for his solo. Mabern solos marvelously on Bobby Timmons and Oscar Brown Jr’s “Dat Dere”. It all ends with the marvelous ”Hittin’ the Jug”: a low-down, extended blues exposition that brings an ‘after hours’ ambiance to the recording as Reeves adds a cool, soulful bass solo and Mabern and Alexander cut loose on their solos: all pushed along by marvelous drumming from Cobb throughout. The CD package is advertised as an 8-panel folding digipack. Once again, Harold Mabern and his ensemble cohorts produce a lively, inventive, memorable jazz session. Highly Recommended.

~ RBSProds, Amazon

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Harold Mabern - To Love And Be Loved (2017)

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Harold Mabern - To Love And Be Loved (2017)

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Harold Mabern - To Love And Be Loved (2017)

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