Hard bop pianist Harold Mabern used his wide array of skills to become one of
the most well-respected, albeit not the most well-known, jazz pianists of his
era. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 20, 1936, Mabern was a self-taught
player and tried his luck in Chicago before landing a gig with Lionel Hampton in
New York City in the late 1950s. He continued to pay his dues as a sideman for
the next few years, culminating in a six-week stint in San Francisco alongside
Miles Davis in 1963.
His debut as a leader, A Few Miles from Memphis, arrived in 1968, and was the
first of s...