Search - Hank Mobley :: Turnaround

Hardbop homerun

p dizzle | augusta, georgia, USA | 10/31/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"first, a note about the reissue-- it is different from the vinyl version!! blue note reworked this album, "no room for squares" and "straight no filter" to better represent the recording sessions that resulted in the albums. that being said, this cd is wonderful! it reveals mr. mobley as a songwriter, something often overlooked in surveys of his career. on this set, we find him exploring both cookers and ballads, and tinkering with form, often exploding the standard 32 bar format of most jazz tunes. the songs themselves are tight and swinging. particular highlights are the title track, a blues vamp full of that unique blue note soul; the cooking "east of the village" and "straight ahead," which are both classic workouts with excellent soloing. the ballads ("the good life" and "my sin") are mellow and rich like coffee by candlelight. an interesting note is that tracks 1, 4-6 and 2-3 are by different bands, but the same format. this gives a golden opportunity to compare some other blue note artists. the first band features guests freddie hubbard on trumpet and gene harris on piano, while the second brings in kenny dorham and herbie hancock on trumpet and piano, respectively. both bands are solid and click together. a fine album."

Good, solid Mobley

jota | College Park, MD United States | 11/24/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As Bob Blumenthal points out in his liner note, the two sessions included here are especially instructive in understanding Mobley's evolution as a player. The 1963 tracks are from the "middle period" exemplified by "Soul Station," in which he perfected his smooth "round sound." On the '65 tracks his tone is sharper and harder, his phrases shorter. Like Blumenthal I prefer the earlier stuff, but there's certainly nothing wrong with the later session (except maybe for the title track, which is one of those rinky-dink "Sidewinder" clones that seemed to lead off every Blue Note date between about '63 and '66.) His reading of "The Good Life" is especially moving. in the original liner notes Mobley says that he'd like to record an album of ballads; this performance makes me wish he'd actually done so. You should, of course, start your Mobley collection with "Soul Station," but this one makes a nice second or third choice."

Hardly dispensable

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 05/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you're a Mobley fan (I confess I'm pretty much a completist when it comes to Hank), you'll probably want to add this one to your collection. The title tune is quite negligible, a "Sidewinder" wannabe, but there is much of compositional and solo worth on each of the other five tracks. "The Good Life" is some of the warmest Mobley on record, and "Pat 'N Mike" is an ingenious and infectious Mobley melody featuring a inspired Freddie Hubbard trumpet solo ahead of Hank's equally strong turn. The liner notes make some inane comment about the difference between the 1963 and 1965 sessions represented on this disc as demonstrating the "evolution" in Mobley's playing, but the tenor giant sounds equally compelling on both occasions (though his later attempts to come up with a "harder, hipper" sound would eventually contribute to his undoing).



I wouldn't purchase "The Turnaround" ahead of "Soul Station" or "Workout" or, for that matter, the Jazz Messengers' or Miles Davis' dates with Hank Mobley on Columbia/Sony or the Donald Byrd sessions with Hank that were recorded originally on Transition. But it's a solid outing, more vital and electrifying than the recently reissued "Hi Voltage."



[If you have an earlier edition, by all means take a pass on this remastered "RVG Edition," on which sound imaging is non-existent, with the notable exception of "The Good Life." On the other tunes tenor is confined to the left channel, trumpet to the right. Count yourself fortunate if you have a playable monaural LP.]"