Harold Mabern: "Greasy Kid Stuff!"

Yes!  My first OG Harold Mabern LP—long on my want list of Prestige label releases, but for whatever reason I never ran across any of his stuff until just recently.  I first became aware of pianist Harold Mabern through his work on numerous jazz and soul-jazz sessions from the late ‘60’s, and was always intrigued by the melodic, expressive flavor he brought to his playing.  Here he has an opportunity to let that flavor shine more brightly than ever before, and the sidemen he uses on this date are equally impressive—Lee Morgan, Idris Muhammad, Buster Williams, Hubert Laws, “Boogaloo” Joe Jones.  Morgan and Laws, in particular, are a horn section to be reckoned with, and Laws, mostly known for his skills as a flautist, takes off with some exemplary tenor sax playing throughout.  There’s a mix of styles that Mabern tackles, as was usually the case with Prestige LP’s from this time (1970), including the bumping soul-jazz-funk of the title track, the exquisite, shimmering ballad “I Haven’t Got Anything Better To Do,” and a seriously groovy rendition of the J5’s “I Want You Back,” which has a wonderfully bop-laced, lackadaisical trumpet solo by Lee Morgan.  Lazy morning jazz at its finest, cup of coffee in hand and troubles evaporating like so much condensation.