One of the great post-bop keyboard players, pianist Harold Mabern was born in Memphis, Tennessee on March 20, 1936. One of his important early influences was Phineas Newborn, Jr., and as a youth he performed with saxophonist George Coleman and trumpeter Booker Little.

According to his own account, Mabern moved to New York City with saxophonist Frank Strozier on November 21, 1959, checked into a hotel and then went to Birdland, where he met Cannonball Adderley, who asked him if he wanted a gig. Mabern accepted and was shown inside, where he was introduced to trumpeter Harry “Sweets” Edison who was looking for a pianist to replace the soon-to-depart Tommy Flanagan. Edison auditioned Mabern and offered him the piano chair in his band on the spot. A few weeks later, most of the members of this band joined tenor man Jimmy Forrest for a recording in Chicago that resulted in the albums “All the Gin Is Gone” and “Black Forrest,” which were Mabern’s debut recordings.

Mabern subsequently gigged with Lionel Hampton, the Jazztet, Donald Byrd, Miles Davis, J.J. Johnson, Lee Morgan, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Wes Montgomery, Joe Williams and Sarah Vaughan. A longtime faculty member at William Paterson College, Mabern was also a frequent instructor at Stanford Jazz Workshop. Saxophonist Eric Alexander was one of Mabern's students at William Paterson in the late 1980s. After his graduation, Mabern frequently toured and recorded with Alexander. Harold Mabern passed away in 2019 at the age of 83.

Here is a link to a live performance in Vancouver, B.C.:

"MR. P.C."