GEORGE COLEMAN QUARTET FT HAROLD MABERN
George Coleman
No tenor saxophonist better epitomizes the robust muscularity of that heavyweight instrument of jazz expression than George Coleman. With brilliant technique and a deeply soulful tone firmly rooted in his hometown of Memphis, George has performed with many of jazz' most legendary figures and influenced countless saxophonists during his half century in music.
Growing up in Memphis' rich musical environment of the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, alongside such notables as Booker Little, Harold Mabern, Frank Strozier, Jamil Nasser, Hank Crawford, Phineas Newborn Jr., and blues immortal B.B. King, Coleman began to teach himself to play the alto saxophone in 1950, upon being profoundly affected by the music of Charlie Parker....
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GEORGE COLEMAN QUARTET FT HAROLD MABERN
George Coleman
No tenor saxophonist better epitomizes the robust muscularity of that heavyweight instrument of jazz expression than George Coleman. With brilliant technique and a deeply soulful tone firmly rooted in his hometown of Memphis, George has performed with many of jazz' most legendary figures and influenced countless saxophonists during his half century in music.
Growing up in Memphis' rich musical environment of the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, alongside such notables as Booker Little, Harold Mabern, Frank Strozier, Jamil Nasser, Hank Crawford, Phineas Newborn Jr., and blues immortal B.B. King, Coleman began to teach himself to play the alto saxophone in 1950, upon being profoundly affected by the music of Charlie Parker.
So prodigious was his talent that George was soon performing locally and in 1952, at the age of 17, was invited to tour with B.B. King after the guitarist heard him in a local club. Coleman spent three more years on the vibrant Memphis scene, expanding his musical knowledge through his associations and influences, and writing for popular artists including the Moonglows and Ray Charles.
In 1955 he rejoined B.B.'s band, but this time on tenor sax, which would become his primary horn from that point on.
For two years George was a member of that groundbreaking quintet with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, recording four classic albums - Seven Steps to Heaven, My Funny Valentine, Four and Miles Davis in Europe - before departing to pursue other projects, leaving that highly visible position to Wayne Shorter. The following year George and Hubbard joined with Miles' rhythm team for Herbie Hancock's landmark Maiden Voyage, one of the most popular albums in the history of jazz.
A winner of numerous honors and awards, Coleman has twice been presented the Key to the City in his hometown, and in 1997 received the Jazz Foundation of America's Life Achievement Award.
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Harold Mabern
Harold Mabern, one of jazz's most enduring and dazzlingly skilled pianists, was born in Memphis, a city that produced saxophonists George Coleman and Charles Lloyd, pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. and trumpeter Booker Little. He was an unsung hero of the 1960s hardbop scene, performing and recording with many of its finest artists, and only in recent years has he begun to garner appreciation for his long-running legacy in jazz and the understated power of his talent; as critic Gary Giddins has written, "With the wind at his back, he can sound like an ocean roar."
During his over half-century on the scene as sideman and leader, he has played and recorded with such greats as Lee Morgan, Sonny Rollins, Hank Mobley, Freddie Hubbard and Miles Davis, just to name a few. "I was never concerned with being a leader, I just always wanted to be the best sideman I could be. Be in the background so you can shine through."
Mabern explains a little about his background and its influence on his music - "There were some fine jazz musicians in Memphis, like Phineas Newborn, Jr., who I've always said was a musical genius. But if you wanted to make a living as a jazz musician in Memphis, you were also forced to play rhythm and blues music. At the time, we all thought it was taking away from our time with jazz. But now I realize what a joy it was. It takes a special kind of feel that all great improvisers like Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown understood. In fact, I think of myself as a bluespianist who understands jazz." "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."
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