This edition of SNJ features the song Such Is Life (sung by Alexis Cole) from Harold Mabern’s new CD, Afro Blue(John Webber, bass, Joe Farnsworth, drums, Eric Alexander, tenor sax, Jeremy Pelt, trumpet).
Though elder statesman Harold Mabern’s blocky, aggressive piano style may seem better suited to the legion of horn players he’s worked with—from Miles, Ornette and Freddie Hubbard to George Coleman and Eric Alexander—it should be remembered that Mabern’s early career also seated him with Betty Carter, Johnny Hartman, Sarah Vaughan and Joe Williams. At age 78 he remains a sterling vocal accompanist, as demonstrated across this album featuring five first-tier singers: Kurt Elling, Gregory Porter, Jane Monheit, Norah Jones and Alexis Cole.
Porter sings on a salute to Herbie Hancock, the Mabern-penned “The Man From Hyde Park,” and on a convincing treatment of the title track. Jones steps in on “Fools Rush In” and the misty “Don’t Misunderstand.” Monheit’s kittenish allure is gorgeously realized on a lilting “I’ll Take Romance” and a satiny “My One and Only Love.” Evincing strong echoes of Chris Connor, Cole traverses another original, Mabern’s breezily philosophic “Such Is Life.” And Elling, distinctive as ever, helps define three widely diverse tracks: a sizzling, scat-fueled “Billie’s Bounce”; a tenderly reflective “Portrait of Jennie”; and this project’s biggest surprise, a powerful rendering of the Anne Murray hit “You Needed Me.”
