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Hybrid Mono SACD in Mini LP Jacket!Mastered By Kevin Gray From Original Mono Master Tapes!
Analogue Productions releases 25 of the most collectible, rarest jazz titles ever in their Prestige Mono Series on Hybrid Mono SACD.
These SACD jackets feature printed wraps mounted to chipboard shells, producing an authentic, "old school" look and feel: also referred to as "mini LP" jackets.
Critic Leonard Feather asserted that Hank Mobley was “the middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone,” meaning that his tone wasn’t as aggressive and thick as John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins, but neither was it as soft and cool as Stan Getz or Lester Young. Mobley helped inaugurate the hard bop movement: Jazz that balanced sophistication and soulfulness, complexity and earthy swing, and whose loose structure allowed for extended improvisations.
Born in Eastman, Georgia, in 1930, but raised in New Jersey, Hank’s long-lined tenor offerings became a staple for pianist Horace Silver’s group, which evolved into the ‘50s super quintet co-led by Art Blakey, dubbed the Jazz Messengers. Their groundbreaking first album for Blue Note, 1955’s Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers, was a hard bop landmark, featuring sophisticated solos and bright, almost funky rhythms. Mobley hit his peak in the first half of the 1960s with hard bop cornerstones like Soul Station, No Room for Squares, and A Caddy for Daddy.
On this Prestige offering, Mobley delivers his signature swinging style in three different variations. Four numbers are by the quintet in which Hank is helped by telegrapher Donald Byrd and his “sending” trumpet. They disseminate the information of two pronouncements from bop’s palmy days, Bud Powell’s “Bouncin’ With Bud” and Thelonious Monk’s “52nd Street Theme,” plus two more numbers, Hank’s “Minor Disturbance” and the group’s “Alternating Current.”
For Charlie Parker’s blues, “Au Privave,” the group becomes a sextet with the addition of a young turk of the alto sax, Jackie McLean.
Hank is the sole horn on “Little Girl Blue.”
"MobleyÂ’s tone was referred to as 'middle weight,' between the aggressive, assertive timbre of Rollins and Coltrane and the lighter feathery presentation of Lester Young and Stan Getz. Hank had the funky hard bop tone, pleasing creative phrasing, and snappy song-writing ability that endeared him to both schools of tenor sax playing... Though only 26 years old, Hank was ready to take on the mantle of a group leader, and having the backing of a front line of Byrd and McLean certainly made the task easier... The mono acoustics, enhanced by Kevin Gray, are superlative with each instrument crystalline clear, well mixed, and bright and crisp... Mobley shows a maturity and improvisation ability rare for someone in his mid-20s." - Jeff Krow, audaud.com, 4 Stars!
Click here to read the entire review!
Originally released in 1956
Features:
• Super Audio CD
• SACD Mono SACD Layer
• This Hybrid SACD contains a 'Red Book' CD Layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players!
• Mastered by Kevin Gray From Original Analog Tapes
• Mini "old style" gatefold jacket, aka Mini LP jacket
Musicians:
Hank Mobley, Tenor Sax
Donald Byrd, Trumpet
Barry Harris, Piano
Jackie McLean, Alto Sax
Art Taylor, Drums
Doug Watkins, Bass
Selections:
1. Bouncing With Bud
2. Minor Disturbance
3. 52nd Street Theme
4. Little Girl Blue
5. Au Privave
6. Alternating Current
