Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley began recording in New York in 1953 as part of the Max Roach Sextette. The session was for Debut, a label founded a year earlier by Roach, bassist Charles Mingus and Mingus's then wife Celia. Mobley's first recording session for Blue Note came a year later as a sideman on The Horace Silver Quintet Vol. 1.
In March 1955, Mobley recorded his first 10-inch Blue Note album as a leader—Hank Mobley Quartet. He was backed by the same sensational rhythm section that appeared on the Horace Silver album mentioned above: Horace Silver (p), Doug Watkins (b) and Art Blakey (d).
Mobley remains the unsung hero of the tenor saxophone in the 1950s. His sound was slippery and smoky, and he was fast and rich with ideas. While Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and John Coltrane were the emerging solo stars, the next tier down was Mobley and Harold Land, both of whom aren't taken nearly as seriously as they should be today.
The tracks (all songs by Hank Mobley, except Love for Sale):
- Hank's Prank
- My Sin
- Avila and Tequila
- Walkin' the Fence
- Love for Sale (Cole Porter)
- Just Coolin'
Here's the full 10-inch Hank Mobley Quartet without ad interruptions...
Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:
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- Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
- Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
- Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
- Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
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- Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
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- Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
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- Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
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- Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
- Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
- Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
- Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
- Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
- Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
- Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
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- Hank Mobley: Poppin', go here.
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- The Great Jazz Piano of Phineas Newborn Jr., go here.
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- Miles Ahead: Miles Davis +19, go here.
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- Bill Watrous, In Love Again, go here.
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- Hank Mobley: Hank Mobley Quintet, go here.
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