"Mozzin'" is a composition by John Farnsworth, performed on Harold Mabern's 2014 album Afro Blue on the Smoke Sessions label. The tune is set in F minor with an AABBA form spanning 40 bars, played as a waltz at a swift 235 beats per minute. The five-part AABBA structure is uncommon in jazz, creating a longer and more varied formal journey than the typical 32-bar standard. Mabern is the sole featured soloist, taking two full choruses of piano improvisation that together last over a minute. The waltz feel at this rapid tempo creates a sense of urgent momentum, the three-quarter time propelling the music forward with a different kind of energy than the album's swing and Latin tracks provide. Mabern's two choruses allow him to develop his ideas across the extended form, building intensity as he moves through the repeating and contrasting sections. The minor key adds a dark, dramatic quality to the performance, and Mabern's blues-drenched approach finds compelling expression within this modal landscape. As a solo piano feature within the album, the track highlights Mabern's ability to sustain musical interest and rhythmic drive without the support of horn soloists, relying on his own harmonic imagination and rhythmic vitality to carry the performance from start to finish.
