Harold Mabern
- Instrument:
- Piano
- Styles:
- Hard Bop, Post Bop, Bop, Soul-Jazz, Modal, Swing, Cool Jazz, Spiritual Jazz, Fusion, Contemporary Jazz
Best Harold Mabern Albums
Leader albums ranked by reissues and demand.
Pisces Calling
Harold Mabern
1980
Trident
Joy Spring
Harold Mabern
1985
Sackville Recordings
Afro Blue
Harold Mabern
2015
Smoke Sessions Records
The Leading Man
Harold Mabern
0
Columbia
Misty
Harold Mabern
2007
Venus Records
Timeline
Key Harold Mabern studio albums by decade, with the labels and styles that define each period.
| Decade | Key albums | Labels | Styles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s |
| Prestige | Soul-Jazz, Hard Bop, Modal |
| 1970s |
| Prestige | — |
| 1980s |
| Trident, Sackville Recordings | Bop, Hard Bop |
| 1990s |
| DIW, Delmark Records, Space Time Records | Bop, Hard Bop, Post Bop, Swing |
| 2000s |
| Venus Records | Ballad, Modal, Hard Bop |
| 2010s |
| HighNote Records, Inc., Smoke Sessions Records, Justin Time | Soul-Jazz, Hard Bop, Post Bop, Latin Jazz |
| 2020s |
| Smoke Sessions Records | Bop, Hard Bop, Post Bop, Modal |
Albums by Style
Top albums grouped by style.
Hard Bop
Joy Spring
Harold Mabern
1985
Sackville Recordings
Afro Blue
Harold Mabern
2015
Smoke Sessions Records
The Iron Man: Live At Smoke
Harold Mabern
2018
Smoke Sessions Records
Mabern Plays Mabern
Harold Mabern
2020
Smoke Sessions Records
Post Bop
Mabern Plays Coltrane
Harold Mabern
2021
Smoke Sessions Records
The Leading Man
Harold Mabern
Columbia
Straight Street
Harold Mabern Trio
1991
Columbia
For Phineas
Harold Mabern
1996
Sackville Recordings
Soul-Jazz
Similar Artists
Artists with similar styles and catalogs.
Harold Mabern Discography
Harold Mabern studio albums as leader and sideman.
Total: 144 releases
| Artist | Album | Label | Leader/Sideman | Style | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MJT+3 | Walter Perkins' MJT + III | Vee Jay Records | Sideman | 1959 | |
| MJT+3 | Make Everybody Happy | Vee Jay Records | Sideman | Hard Bop | 1960 |
| The Johnny Griffin Orchestra | The Big Soul-Band | Riverside Records | Sideman | Soul-Jazz | 1960 |
| MJT+3 | MJT+3 | Vee Jay Records | Sideman | 1961 | |
| Lionel Hampton | The Many Sides Of Hamp | Glad Records | Sideman | Swing | 1961 |
| The Jazztet | Another Git Together | Mercury | Sideman | Hard Bop | 1962 |
| The Jazztet | Here And Now | Mercury | Sideman | Hard Bop | 1962 |
| Lionel Hampton | The Exciting Hamp In Europe | Glad-Hamp Records, Inc. | Sideman | Hard Bop | 1962 |
| Roland Kirk | Reeds & Deeds | Mercury | Sideman | Hard Bop | 1963 |
| Jimmy Heath And Brass | Swamp Seed | Riverside Records | Sideman | Hard Bop | 1963 |
| The Roland Kirk Quartet, The Benny Golson Orchestra | The Roland Kirk Quartet Meets The Benny Golson Orchestra | Mercury | Sideman | Free Jazz | 1963 |
| Art Farmer Quartet | Perception | Argo | Sideman | 1964 | |
| Dave Burns | Warming Up! | Vanguard | Sideman | Bop | 1964 |
| J.J. Johnson | Proof Positive | Impulse! | Sideman | Cool Jazz | 1965 |
| Sonny Stitt | Sax Expressions | Royal Roost | Sideman | Bop | 1965 |
| Hank Mobley | Dippin' | Blue Note | Sideman | Hard Bop | 1966 |
| Freddie Hubbard | Blue Spirits | Blue Note | Sideman | Post Bop | 1967 |
| Blue Mitchell | Bring It Home To Me | Blue Note | Sideman | Hard Bop | 1967 |
| Buddy Terry | Electric Soul | Prestige | Sideman | Hard Bop | 1967 |
| Newport Parker Tribute All Stars | Tribute To Charlie Parker From The Newport Jazz Festival | RCA Victor | Sideman | Bop | 1967 |
Harold Mabern Collaborations
Players they worked with most often, as leader and as sideman.
As Leader
| Musician | Role | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Farnsworth | Drums | 10 |
| John Webber | Bass | 9 |
| Eric Alexander | Tenor Saxophone | 9 |
| George Coleman | Tenor Saxophone | 4 |
| Bob Porter | Supervised By | 3 |
| Charles Thomas | Piano | 3 |
| Donald Brown | Piano | 3 |
| Steve Davis | Trombone | 3 |
| Bill Lee | Bass | 2 |
| Buster Williams | Bass | 2 |
As Sideman
| Musician | Role | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Farnsworth | Drums | 42 |
| Eric Alexander | Tenor Saxophone | 36 |
| George Coleman | Tenor Saxophone | 20 |
| Frank Strozier | Alto Saxophone | 15 |
| Billy Higgins | Drums | 15 |
| Nat Reeves | Bass | 15 |
| Bob Cranshaw | Bass | 13 |
| Ron Carter | Bass | 13 |
| Virgil Jones | Trumpet | 12 |
| Arthur Harper | Bass | 11 |
Styles & Genres Distribution
Style and genre mix across their releases.
Styles
| Style | Releases | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Hard Bop | 46 | 31.9% |
| Post Bop | 42 | 29.2% |
| Bop | 31 | 21.5% |
| Soul-Jazz | 24 | 16.7% |
| Modal | 8 | 5.6% |
| Swing | 5 | 3.5% |
| Cool Jazz | 5 | 3.5% |
| Spiritual Jazz | 5 | 3.5% |
| Fusion | 5 | 3.5% |
| Contemporary Jazz | 5 | 3.5% |
Genres
| Genre | Releases | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Jazz | 144 | 100% |
| Funk / Soul | 5 | 3.5% |
| Latin | 1 | 0.7% |
| Blues | 1 | 0.7% |
| Pop | 1 | 0.7% |
Top Labels
Labels with the most releases in their catalog.
| Label | Releases |
|---|---|
| Venus Records | 11 |
| Blue Note | 8 |
| Prestige | 8 |
| Delmark Records | 8 |
| HighNote Records, Inc. | 8 |
| Smoke Sessions Records | 8 |
| Muse Records | 6 |
| Milestone | 5 |
| Strata-East | 5 |
| Mercury | 4 |
Key Personnel
Frequent producers, engineers, and studio credits.
| Person | Role | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| Todd Barkan | Producer | 14 |
| Rudy Van Gelder | Lacquer Cut By | 11 |
| Rudy Van Gelder | Engineer | 11 |
| Tetsuo Hara | Producer | 10 |
| Various | Leader | 10 |
| James Williams | Producer | 8 |
| Joe Fields | Executive-Producer | 8 |
| Rudy Van Gelder | Recorded By | 7 |
| Rudy Van Gelder | Engineer, Mixed By, Mastered By | 7 |
| Maureen Sickler | Engineer [Assistant] | 7 |