"Mabern Plays Mabern" is pianist Harold Mabern at his absolute best--playing his favorite original compositions with a sextet of close friends and associates in front of a live audience at Smoke Jazz Club in New York City. Mabern is joined by tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, alto saxophonist Vincent Herring, trombonist Steve Davis, bassist John Webber, and drummer Joe Farnsworth on an energetic and romp through his catalog. The music on this release is now more highly anticipated and important to Mabern's fans as he passed away suddenly in September 2019. Nat Chinen of WBGO described him then as "a pianist of percussive fire and boundless soul, with a language that pulled from hard bop, post-bop, Memphis soul and the blues."
