Henry (Hank) Mobley (July 7th, 1930 – May 30th 1986) was an American hard jazz and soul jazz tenor player and composer. Leonard Feather called Mobley the “middleweight champion” of the tenor-saxophone, a description that describes his tone which was neither as aggressive or as mellow than Stan Getz. Jazz connoisseurs interpreted this description as if Mobley were mediocre. His style was relaxed, melodic and subtle, which contrasted with John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. It took jazz connoisseurs until his death to appreciate his talent.
Mobley was born and raised in Eastman, Georgia. He worked early in his career with Max Roach and Dizzy Gillespie. Art Blakey, Horace Silver and Doug Watkins were among the pioneering hard bop sessions. He was also joined by Kenny Dorham, trumpeter Kenny Dorham, and Doug Watkins. These sessions resulted in the release of Horace Silver and The Jazz Messengers. They were a contrast to Cool Jazz’s classical pretensions. Mobley’s rich lyrics were bluesier than the more funky Horace Silver. Mobley remained with pianist Horace Silver after The Jazz Messengers split up in 1956. However, he worked again with Blakey in the 1960s, when the drummer was featured on Mobley’s albums.
He was a leader in the 1960s and recorded 25 albums for Blue Note Records between 1955 and 1970, including Soul Station, Roll Call and Soul Station. Many of the greatest hard-bop musicians, including Wynton Kelly, Wynton Jones, Wynton Clark, Wynton Clark, Wynton Johnson, Wynton Clark, Wynton Kelley, Wynton Kelly, Wynton Clark, Wynton Clark, Wynton Jones and Grant Green, performed with him. He also formed a productive partnership with Lee Morgan, the trumpeter. Mobley is well-known as one of the greatest composers of originals during the hard-bop era. His compositions are full of interesting chord changes and allow soloists to spread their wings.
Although Another Workout was a classic 1961 album, it was not released until 1985.
Mobley also spent some time with Miles Davis in 1961, as the trumpeter searched for a replacement to John Coltrane. You can hear him on the album Someday My Prince Will Come, along with Coltrane who returned to record some tracks. Although Mobley is not considered to have the same improvisational fire as Coltrane, he was still a prominent voice on tenor Saxophone and is well-known for his melodic playing.
Mobley had to retire in the middle of the 1970s because of lung problems. Before his death in 1986 from pneumonia, Mobley briefly worked with Duke Jordan. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.