“I feel good when singers say they love the way you play. That's the highest compliment,” says pianist Harold Mabern in the booklet notes to Afro Blue. And it's small wonder that singers dig Mabern's pianism: having worked with everyone from Betty Carter to Johnny Hartman, he is one of the great accompanists in jazz. The album presents songs from five of the pianist's favourite vocalists, and from the pulsating title track featuring Gregory Porter each pairing takes you on a different emotional ride. Jane Monheit's seductive take on ‘My One and Only Love’ features a heart-meltingly lovely solo from tenorist Eric Alexander. On ‘Don't Misunderstand’, a stripped down duet with Norah Jones, Mabern's sumptuous voicings and restless imagination shine through. Kurt Elling dazzles on a freewheeling scat on Charlie Parker's ‘Billie's Bounce’, while his remarkable control of the melodic line in ‘Portrait of Jennie’ immediately put me in mind of his 2009 album Dedicated To You (always a good thing). In the company of a stellar band, the album is bookended with instrumentals, opening with Mabern's coruscating ‘The Chief, written for John Coltrane.