Search - Hank Mobley :: Hank Mobley Quintet

Deeply Frozen Funk

Jack Baker | LeRoy,IL | 09/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Blue Note Records made my day and re-released this gem from Hank Mobley in a Rudy Van Gelder edition. Mobley remains my favorite tenor saxophone player and I jump at any chance to acquire his material, especially from this time period. This session is particularly desirable, considering the group of musicians assembled for this date from March of 1957. Mobley enlisted several of his cronies from the Jazz Messengers, namely top drummer Art Blakey, pianist Horace Silver, and bassist Doug Watkins. This Messengers heavy lineup is joined by the soulful trumpet of Art Farmer. The group plays like a well-oiled machine, a single-minded unit dedicated to the groove.



This session is pretty much a slam dunk if you're an fan of any of the musicians involved. Mobley penned all six of these infectious numbers, so you can be assured that they feature riffs and melodies that'll be swimming around in your brain for days. The album kicks off with the wonderfully titled "Funk in Deep Freeze". Farmer's tone is really warm on his solo and like Mobs, he's an expert at conveying emotion with a minimum number of notes. Silver and Watkins get a chance to show their stuff before Hank takes it out. I love this piece and it's easy to see why the liner notes call it a favorite of Mobley fans. "Wham and They're Off" begins as advertised, with Blakey leading the charge out of the gate before the horns take over this spirited piece. Blakey in particular leaves his stamp all over this one. "Fin De L'Affaire" is yet another entry in the list of beautiful Mobley ballads. Mobley's melancholy tenor serves to bring an element of joy to sadness and Farmer turns in some nice muted work. "Startin' from Scratch" is one of those quick paced pieces that gives the musicians plenty of chances to blow it out. "Stellawise" is another tight number with that Mobley mid-tempo groove. The album closes with the blusey "Base on Balls" (Gotta love those Mobley titles!). Doug Watkins gets a bit more of the spotlight here with some cool basslines. The Van Gelder edition also features alternate takes of the stirring "Funk in Deep Freeze" and "Wham and They're Off" originally released on The History of Blue Note, Box 2.



The session sounds magnificent, thanks to an excellent mono mix by Rudy Van Gelder. This album may just have become my favorite of Mobley's, as both the music and performers really deliver. Get frozen, baby."

Early Mobley

Gerald Dalton | Chicago, Illinois | 01/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is among Hank's earliest LPs and it is among his best. Vintage hard bop on Blue Note. With Art Farmer on trumpet sharing solos and a rhythm section of Horace Silver (P), Doug Watkins (B) and the incomparable Art Blakey on drums the listeer cannot go wrong."

Can't go wrong

GregB | Spain | 12/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are some names which are a guarantee in themselves of great jazz and Hank Mobley is one of them, so when you see another Blue Note album of his from the golden age of hard bop, the 50's, revamped (it's a RVG edition) and re-released, you know straight away you'll be in for a treat. Here, though the treat is in spades because the rest of the line-up is like a Who's Who of the cream of the hard-boppers - Art Farmer on trumpet, Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass and Art Blakey on drums. All the tunes are first rate and they were all written by Hank, demonstrating again what a fine talent he had as a composer, too.



Just get hold of it and - wham and you're off!"