This is FRESH AIR. Memphis-born jazz pianist Harold Mabern got hired by a named band on the day he arrived in New York in 1959. He's been busy ever since, leading his own groups, backing singers and ...

Harold Mabern, a jazz pianist, composer, and educator of indomitable energy and irrepressible good humor who came out of Memphis, Tennessee, to become one of the world’s premier hard bop musicians, ...

Smoke Sessions Records honors legendary pianist Harold Mabern with a remixed, remastered 10th anniversary edition of his all-star album Afro Blue Released on Mabern’s 90th birthday, March 20, 2026, ...

Every day, even when I'm not practicing, I'm thinking about music. Most of the songs I've ever written are away from the piano while I'm walking down the street humming and whistling. Harold Mabern, ...

For proof of music’s healing power, look no further than 78-year-old Harold Mabern, who’s backed Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, and Wes Montgomery, and who’s just done the same for local ...

Harold Mabern remembers the exact date he moved to New York: November 21, 1959. He and Frank Strozier, the alto saxophonist who played with Mabern in the Chicago group MJT+3, moved together, and upon ...

Harold Mabern has never had any hang-ups about not being the center of attention. "I get joy out of being an accompanist," the pianist affirms, likening himself to an offensive lineman on a football ...

Mabern has worked as a pianist for more than half a century. Now he brings brings his confident style and sense of musical history to his latest album, To Love And Be Loved. This is FRESH AIR. Memphis ...