Harold Mabern Trio - Kiss Of Fire (Japanese edition)
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Piano – Harold Mabern
Tenor Saxophone – Eric Alexander (A1) [click here to see more vinyl featuring Eric Alexander]
Bass – Nat Reeves
Drums – Joe Farnsworth
Antonio Carlos Jobim (A1), Luiz Bonfa (A2), Angel Villoldo (A3), Lester Allen (A3), K. Dorham (B1), D. Ferreira (B2), Jimmy Van Heusen (B3)
1 LP, standard sleeve
Limited edition
Original Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Japanese Pressing
Label : Venus Hyper Magnum Sound LP Collection
Original Label : Venus
Recorded at “BST Studio” in Tokyo on December 2, 2001
Engineered and mixed by Shuji Kitamura
Produced by Tetsuo Hara
Mastered by Shuji Kitamura, Tetsuo Hara
Lacquer cut by Kazumi Tezuka
Design by Taz
Photography by Alex Majoli
Originally released in 2002
Reissued in June 2023
Tracks :
Side A:
- How Insensitive
- Black Orpheus
- Kiss Of Fire
Side B:
- Blue Bossa
- Recado Bossa Nova
- Nancy (With The Laughing Face)
Reviews:
“While growing up in Memphis, the teenaged Mabern played jazz with peers such as Strozier, tenor saxophonist George Coleman and trumpeter Booker Little. No one, however, affected the young pianist as much as Phineas Newborn, who, at four years Mabern’s senior, became a friend and instructor. “Anything you name about the piano, he had in his playing,” Mabern says. “Complete orchestration, crystal-clear touch, phenomenal technique. He had more technique in his left hand than most of us have in our right hands. He could put his right hand in his pocket and play complete compositions with his left hand.”
(…) Mabern recalls teaching Newborn Clifford Brown’s “Daahoud” when the younger pianist made a return visit to Memphis. “On his first record date, he recorded it, which made me feel good,” Mabern says. “That was my claim to fame: saying I taught my teacher something.”
Mabern has taught his students more than just something at William Patterson College, in New Jersey, where he has taught for 22 years. Each Tuesday, he gives four private lessons and two ensembles. Teaching music from techniques that he learned in “the university of the streets” is not without its challenges, but Mabern sees that rewards come with it, too. “I’ve had some piano students that are so good, they teach me,” he says. “So what I do is teach them songs: Play the music that Charlie Parker played, which was standards. If you can play those, you can play anything. It teaches discipline that way.”
Mabern’s former student Eric Alexander returned the favor and used the pianist on six of his albums, including last year’s Summit Meeting (Milestone). “He’s kept me so busy, in fact I’ve worked more [in 2002] than I have in 50 years,” Mabern says. “He’s getting better right before my eyes. He’s constantly improving because he’s never satisfied.”
Working as a support player and in piano collectives has eclipsed Mabern’s own small but sturdy leader discography. Mabern’s recent LPs have been released only in Japan, including Mabern’s Grooveyard (DIW, 1998)—a solid trio date with Christian McBride and Tony Reedus that features a set of off-the-beaten track tunes and the excellent original “AON”—and Maya With Love.
Along with Summit Meeting, 2002 saw the release of Mabern’s Kiss of Fire (Venus, Japan), which he says turned out to be the best-selling album of his career. Ever the optimist, Mabern points out that these releases have built up a following in Japan, where he toured with Alexander and toured there in March 2003 (…)”.Mike Shanley, Jazz Times
Ratings:
Discogs : 4.5 / 5