Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley is as beloved by jazz fans as Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. And for good reason. Mobley recorded for Blue Note throughout the 1950s and '60s, and for Cobblestone in 1972, and he appears on many albums as a leader and sideman. Though not a jazz game-changer in the same regard as Sonny and Coltrane, Mobley was artistically driven and improvised with a liquid flow and exciting feel. And he had his own sound that was direct and assertive. So whenever I come across new Mobley, I like to let readers know.
Some of you may already be familiar with Hank Mobley in Holland: To One So Sweet, Stay That Way (Dutch Jazz Archive). Recorded in March 1968 and released in 2017, the album reflects Mobley at a critical turning point. While Mobley recorded for Blue Note steadily, only some of his albums were released by Alfred Lion at Blue Note. Many were issued years later. This was common practice at the label when artists were prolific. Blue Note didn't want to cannibalize the sales of other commercially viable albums on which those artists appeared. In addition, Mobley's leadership-album sales weren't exactly stellar. [Photo above, from left, of Pim Jacobs, Ruud Jacobs, Hank Mobley, Wim Overgaauw and Han Bennink at Theater Bellevue in Amsterdam on March 20, 1968, courtesy of the Dutch Jazz Archive]
Which brings us to 1967. With studio work drying up, Mobley decided to begin touring in Europe, where he hoped he could find club work without new releases driving interest. He started by played at Ronnie Scott's, on April 22. [Photo above of Ruud Jacobs and Hank Mobley at the Birdsclub in Amsterdam on March 24, 1968 by Bob van Grevenbroek, courtesy of the Dutch Jazz Archive]
The following March, Mobley returned to Holland. But by 1968, Dutch enthusiasm for acoustic jazz had dimmed somewhat, with younger listeners gravitating to American and British rock and soul. Instead of lavish accommodations in Amsterdam and performances at swanky theaters, club work had become the norm and was found mostly in Rotterdam, Hilversum and other smaller towns.There, club owners met players at train stations and took them to small bed-and-breakfast hotels before performances. [Photo above of Hank Mobley, Ruud Jacobs and Piet Noordijk at the Birdsclub in Amsterdam on March 24, 1968 by Bob van Grevenbroek, courtesy of the Dutch Jazz Archive]
Over three nights in March 1968, two of Mobley's performances were recorded by Dutch TV and radio and one was a private recording. Frank Jochemsen, the album's co-producer, found the tapes in the 2010s and assembled the rare live Mobley album. Three songs were recorded on March 20 at Theater Bellevue in Amsterdam, two at VARA studio in Hilversum on March 28, and five at Jazzclub B14 on March 29. [Photo above of Hank Mobley]
The first three tracks (Summertime, Sonny Redd's Bluesville and Sonny Rollins's Airegin) feature Mobley with Pim Jacobs on piano, Wim Overgaauw on guitar, Ruud Jacobs on bass and Han Bennink on drums. The next two tracks (I Didn't Know What Time It Was and Rob Madna's Twenty-Four and More) were recorded with Mobley fronting a big band. The last five (Red Garland's Blues by Five, Like Someone in Love, Miles Davis's Weird Blues, Mobley's Three-Way Split and Autumn Leaves) include Mobley with Rob Agerbeek on piano, Hans van Rossem on bass and Cees See on drums. [Photo above, from left front, of Cees Smal, Herman Schoonderwalt, Hank Mobley and Frans Elsen; in the background, Fons Diercks, Joop Scholten, Rob Langereis, Joop Mastenbroek, Ferdinand Povel and Sander Sprong at VARA studio, Hilversum, March 28, 1968]
All of the music here is superb. Mobley's sound is smokey and relaxed but expressive, and he digs in throughout. What's more, the fidelity is fantastic thanks to Marc Broer's audio restoration and mastering. [Photo above of Ruud Jacobs and Hank Mobley at the Birdsclub in Amsterdam on March 24, 1968 by Bob van Grevenbroek, courtesy of the Dutch Jazz Archive]
Hank Mobley's last recording was in 1980—I Wanna Talk About You, for Nils Winther's Steeplechase label in Copenhagen, Denmark. Mobley died in 1986.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Hank Mobley in Holland: To One So Sweet, Stay That Way (Dutch Jazz Archive) as an import here, at Dusty Groove here and at Discogs.com here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Bluesville by Sonny Red, which is incorrectly listed as Sonny's Tune...
And here's I Didn't Know What Time It Was...
