Soul Hank Mobley

Avid Jazz continues with its Four Classic album series with a re-mastered 2CD Second Set release from Hank Mobley, complete with original artwork and liner notes. “Peckin’ Time”; “Soul Station”; “Roll Call!” and “Workout”.
For our Second Set from Hank Mobley we have chosen four albums from the heart of his classic Blue Note period from the late 1950’s to the early 1960’s. On these fine albums, which include what many consider to be his best albums “Roll Call” and “Workout” you will hear Mobley alongside some of the greatest jazz musicians of the era, many of whom have their own classic Blue Note catalogue’s to enjoy. Step forward Lee Morgan, Paul Chambers, Art Blakey, Wynton Kelly, Freddie Hubbard, Grant Green and “Philly” Joe Jones…

Often overlooked, perhaps because he wasn't a great innovator in jazz but merely a stellar performer, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley was at the peak of his powers on Soul Station. Recorded with a superstar quartet including Art Blakey on drums, Paul Chambers on bass, and Wynton Kelly on piano, it was the first album since Mobley's 1955 debut to feature him as a leader without any other accompanying horns. The clean, uncomplicated sound that resulted from that grouping helps make it the best among his albums and a peak moment during a particularly strong period in his career. Mobley has no problem running the show here, and he does it without being flashy or burying the strong work of his sidemen…

Often overlooked, perhaps because he wasn't a great innovator in jazz but merely a stellar performer, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley was at the peak of his powers on Soul Station. Recorded with a superstar quartet including Art Blakey on drums, Paul Chambers on bass, and Wynton Kelly on piano, it was the first album since Mobley's 1955 debut to feature him as a leader without any other accompanying horns. The clean, uncomplicated sound that resulted from that grouping helps make it the best among his albums and a peak moment during a particularly strong period in his career. Mobley has no problem running the show here, and he does it without being flashy or burying the strong work of his sidemen…

While not as groundbreaking as A Caddy For Daddy, Dippin' or Soul Station, Flip is nonetheless a solid hard groove date for Mobley, who wrote all five of its selections. Flip is Mobley's second-to-last date, and he cut the session in a Paris studio with trombonist Slide Hampton, trumpeter Dizzy Reece, pianist Vince Benedetti, Philly Joe Jones on drums, and a young French bassist named Alby Cullaz. All but Cullaz and Reece were expatriated Americans. (Reece came to Paris from New York, but is Jamaican). The title track opens the set and it lays deep in the soul-jazz cut, tempered by hard bop sensibilities: the solos by Reece, Hampton, and Mobley are top-notch, but it is Benedetti's muscular comping and blues-wailing piano that drives the tune…

Part of Blue Note's quality series of artist samplers, The Best of Hank Mobley surveys the great tenor saxophonist's prime stretch from 1955-1965. Originally overshadowed by the likes of Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, and, of course, Coltrane, Mobley nevertheless gained the respect of his peers, thanks to his richly fluid phrasing and smooth, caramel tone – in lieu of trying to impress you, he seduced you slowly from afar. And while one is advised to dive in directly with any one of his Blue Note discs – especially Soul Station, No Room for Squares, and A Slice of the Top – this ten-track overview still works well as a launching pad. Backed by a stellar array of "Blue Note" regulars like Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Billy Higgins, Freddie Hubbard, and Horace Silver, Mobley ranges effortlessly from early hard bop favorites ("Funk in a Deep Freeze") to mature, solo-rich material from the mid-'60s ("The Turnaround"). In between, there are two stunning originals from his banner year of 1960 ("This I Dig of You," "Take Your Pick") and one of the best of his several bossa nova numbers ("Recado Bossa Nova"). For listeners who just want a taste, this best-of collection will do the trick just fine.

Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley was overshadowed by more influential tenors such as Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane during his career, but although he wasn't deliberately flashy or particularly innovative, his concisely measured, round sax tone made him the perfect ensemble player and he was a fine writer, as well, a talent who has often been undervalued and overlooked. The Peckin' Time session was recorded February 9, 1958 (the LP was issued a year later) and came in the midst of what was a period of whirlwind creativity for Mobley, who recorded work for the Savoy and Prestige imprints as well as six full albums for Blue Note (two were never released - it was not that uncommon for Blue Note to stockpile sessions at the time) in a little more than a year's time (later Blue Note albums like Soul Station and Roll Call were still well in the future)…

These nine ballads were recorded by Hank Mobley between 1955 and 1967. Apart from being a genuinely wonderful set of romantic tunes, Music for Lovers showcases a different side of the great hard bop tenor's playing. Mobley's approach to ballads was reverent, but it was loose, too. Mobley brought a big helping of soul to his readings of standards such as "Darn That Dream," "I Should Care," and even the ethereal "Deep in a Dream." However, as this small collection illustrates, it is in his own tunes that Mobley shines brightest. First, there's the beautiful "No More Goodbyes," recorded with Bob Cranshaw, Billy Higgins, and John Hicks from a late date in 1967…