Iron Man: Live At Smoke

While it was captured over the course a single night, there's a rich lifetime's worth of music packed into The Iron Man: Live at Smoke. If it's a slight overstatement to say that the album represents an autobiography in song, that's only because 82-year-old jazz master Harold Mabern tells his story in every note that he plays. That's as true of the melodies he's been interpreting for more then half a century - as many of the tunes on The Iron Man are - as it is of the always inspired music that flows spontaneously from the great pianist's fingers. The Iron Man, Smoke Sessions Records, was recorded on the final night of a remarkable three-week residency, an annual holiday tradition at the renowned New York City club. Most of that 2017/18 run was dedicated to the music of John Coltrane and featured a host of invited guests to the bandstand. For this magical final performance, however, Mabern and his gifted, longstanding quartet - tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, bassist John Webber, and drummer Joe Farnsworth - went it alone, vigorously swinging through well-loved tunes from throughout Mabern's storied career.