Search - Hank Mobley :: Peckin' Time

Early collaboration from Mobley and Morgan

Roger Berlind | NY, USA | 01/21/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD, originally recorded in 1958, presents a fairly early (although not the first) collaboration between saxophonist Hank Mobley and trumpeter Lee Morgan. This album was followed up by some Jazz Messenger albums in 1959 and many more collaborations including Mobley's No Room For Squares, Dippin', A Caddy for Daddy, A Slice of the Top, Third Season, and Straight No Filter and Morgan's Cornbread, Charisma, and The Rajah, all of which were recorded in the 1960s.



Mobley and Morgan are two outstanding jazz instrumentalists and are backed up by a great rhythm section. Their music is essentially hard bop, an offshoot of the bebop jazz that revolutionized jazz in the 1940s. Hard bop took bebop and mixed in some R&B, gospel, and blues.



This is a very good album with good variety and very stylish solos by Mobley, Morgan, and pianist Wynton Kelly. I think this album is on par with No Room For Squares and better than Dippin' which suffered from monotony. I think Cornbread is the best Mobley/Morgan collaboration that I have heard, but I have not heard all their joint ventures. Some listeners might prefer Mobley's earlier sound of the 50s which was less harsh than the sound he developed in the mid 60s."

Still Time To Buy "Peckin' Time"

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 09/17/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Quite frankly, I am surprised that this disc is being reissued as an RVG title since the original CD has not yet gone out-of-print. (Isn't the self-titled "Hank Mobley," with its fabulous Francis Wolff cover photograph, a better choice to release first?) Well I assume with his Mosaic Set finally selling out, we will slowly see all of Hank's terrific 1950s Blue Note albums resurface. From this album cover, you would think "Peckin' Time" is as much Lee Morgan's album as it is Hank Mobley's. And while they were often paired together in the late 50s, this is definitely Hank's effort as he contributed four of the five compositions. Joined in this quintet by the formidable rhythm section of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Charlie Persip, Hank and Lee swing in the classic style of 50s Blue Note albums. Hank would hook up again with Wynton and P.C. on the early 60s classics Soul Station, Roll Call and Workout (see my review of the latter), but this, his last recording in the 50s, is slightly below those three in overall quality. However, with only three of Mobley's nine Blue Note albums from the 50s currently available on CD stateside, this is an excellent look at the early years of an underrated jazz giant."