''The Leading Man'' is an album by pianist

Harold Mabern Harold Mabern Jr. (March 20, 1936 – September 17, 2019) was an American jazz pianist and composer, principally in the hard bop, post-bop, and soul jazz fields.Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. p. 4 ...

. It was released by

DIW Records DIW Records is a Japanese record label specializing in avant-garde jazz. It is a subsidiary of Disk Union. Kazunori Sugiyama was an executive producer for the label before starting Tzadik Records with John Zorn. DIW's name stands for "Discs in t ...

in 1993. Columbia Records released an album with the same title and some of the same tracks two years later.

Recording and music

The core personnel are

(piano), Ron Carter (bass), and Jack DeJohnette (drums). They play on all of the tracks except "Mercury Retro", which is performed by Mabern alone. The album was produced by James Williams.

Release and reception

''The Leading Man'' was released in 1993 by

. An album of the same title was issued by Columbia Records in March 1995. Some of the tracks on this release are the same as for the original album, and the other tracks feature some different personnel. The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

reviewer commented that the album "is considered a classic, both for its selection of material and the performances of the various ensembles Mabern assembled for the date", and that Mabern's "playing, while always inspired, is revelatory in its sense of full orchestration and the shifting timbres of his solos". The ''American Visions'' reviewer wrote that: "Out of the crucible of Art Blakey's band, Mabern held his own for many years and carried some neophytes along the way. Here's a chance to hear him in his terribleness with some real giants."

Track listing

DIW release

#"Yes or No" #"Save the Best for Last" #"Full House" #"She/Mr. Lucky" #"Alone Together" #"The Man from Hyde Park" #"B&B" #"T-Bone Steak" #"Mercury Retro"

Columbia release

#"Look on the Bright Side" #"Save the Best for Last" #"Full House" #"Alone Together" #"It's a Lonesome Old Town" #"Yes and No" #"Moment's Notice" #"Au Privave" #"B and B" #"Mercury Retro" Source:

Personnel

DIW release

– piano * Ron Carter – bass (tracks 1–8) * Jack DeJohnette – drums (tracks 1–8) *

Bill Mobley Joseph William Mobley (born April 7, 1953) is an American jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player. Early life and education Mobley was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Both of his parents were musicians. Mobley learned piano, his mother's instrument, from ...

– trumpet, flugelhorn *

Bill Easley Bill Easley (born January 13, 1946) is an American jazz musician who plays saxophone, flute, and clarinet. Early life and education Easley was born and raised in Olean, New York. He began playing music at the age of 13 and studied at Memphis ...

– alto sax *

Kevin Eubanks Kevin Tyrone Eubanks (born November 15, 1957) is an American jazz and fusion guitarist and composer. He was the leader of The Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno from 1995 to 2010. He also led the Primetime Band on the short lived ''The Jay Le ...

– guitar *Pamela Baskin-Watson – vocals

Columbia release

*Harold Mabern – piano *Ron Carter – bass (tracks 2–4, 6, 9) *

Christian McBride Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of j ...

– bass (tracks 1, 5, 7, 8) *Jack DeJohnette – drums (tracks 1–9) *Bill Mobley – trumpet, flugelhorn (tracks 6, 9) *Bill Easley – alto sax (track 2) *Kevin Eubanks – guitar (track 3) Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leading Man 1993 albums DIW Records albums Harold Mabern albums