Archive for the ‘Wynton Kelly’ Category
Hank Mobley: Workout (1961 – Blue Note Records)
Miles Davis dissed him, Leonard Feather called him the middleweight champion, and most people thought that John Coltrane outshone him. Because of these and a few other real or imagined slings and arrows, a kind of victim support group vibe has gathered around Hank Mobley in recent years. He’s in danger of going down in history as a tragic figure.
But hey! Here’s another perspective to consider. Mobley recorded an astonishing 25 albums as a leader or co-leader for Blue Note (not even Grant Green comes close), was featured on around another 35 Blue Notes as a sideman, and made his mark on Columbia and a few other labels too. Where’s the victim?
Mobley had some good times outside the studio as well. He was married twice, by all accounts on both occasions to stunningly beautiful women, and lived until he was 56—not a massive span, true, but for a black hard bop saxophonist born in 1930 who had intermittent heroin problems, longer than many. Mobley did alright, as history should record.
Fact is, Mobley wasn’t one of the all-time greats. His style was an amalgam of others before and around him, and his technique was no better than average. His tone was thin more often than it was fat, and he squeaked on fast passages or when negotiating tricky intervals. He was, though, an exhilaratingly ragged and abandoned tenor saxophonist and a solid blues-based composer who made one all-time great album, Soul Station, and half a dozen very good ones.
Workout, from 1961, is one of the very good ones, and it’s now being released with a lethal Rudy Van Gelder remaster. The headlong charges which are “Workout” (pure bop) and “Smokin'” (pure hard bop) showcase Mobley at his best: passionate, wild and 100% in the moment. “Workout” is further distinguished by Philly Joe Jones’ door-rattling presence and Grant Green’s straight out of Minton’s, more Christian than Christian, jetstream of a solo. “Uh Huh” (brisk soul-jazz, in which Mobley acknowledges and recalibrates his R&B roots) and “Greasin’ Easy” (moderato hard bop blues) are almost as good. Mobley wrote all four of these tracks. (The two standards, “The Best Things In Life Are Free” and “Three Coins In A Fountain,” are by comparison merely pleasant).
Chris May (All About Jazz)
1. Workout
2. Uh Huh
3. Smokin’
4. The Best Things In Life Are Free
5. Greasin’ Easy
6. Three Coins In The Fountain
Personnel:
Hank Mobley: (tenor saxophone)
Grant Green: (guitar)
Wynton Kelly: (piano)
Paul Chambers: (bass)
Philly Joe Jones: (drums)
Original Release Date: March 26, 1961 – Label: Blue Note Records
Benny Golson: The Best Of Benny Golson (2009 – Concord Music)
The seductive charm that makes Benny Golson’s “Whisper Not” so appealing has not diminished in half a century, as is evident when listening to the two performances found here, one recorded in 1956, the other just last year. The latter, with Al Jarreau singing the Leonard Feather lyrics with surprising sensitivity, comes from Golson’s latest version of the sextet he originally formed with the late Art Farmer in 1959. The 1956 instrumental recording, by a nonet, is an opulent rendering with heraldic flourishes by Julius Watkins’ French horn plus solos from Farmer’s trumpet, Gigi Gryce’s alto and Golson’s rococo climactic tenor sax.
“Whisper Not” is one of many tunes that have made Golson one of jazz’ leading composers. He has displayed an unfailing gift for suave melodies combined with elaborate and sophisticated harmonies, all spiced with rhythms ranging from sultry saunters to high-stepping marches. And his playing, like his compositions, never relinquishes melody, no matter how baroque or extravagant his bebop-inspired harmonic flights may soar.
“The Best Of” album concentrates as much on presenting Golson the improviser as it does the composer, with his early work represented by tracks featuring mostly quintets with trombonist Curtis Fuller. His solos reflect the influence of Lucky Thompson with intimations of John Coltrane’s explorations, especially on an aggressive “Are You Real?” The heavy, breathy vibrato of Thompson, most prominent on a very slow “April in Paris” from 1959, became much less pronounced over the years, as tracks from the ’80s on confirm, but Golson never lost that edge of velvet in his tone, nor that commitment to melody that make his solos on “Five Spot After Dark” (1997) and “Killer Joe” (2004) so warmly engaging.
George Kanzler (All About Jazz)
Personnel: Art Blakey, Ray Bryant, Paul Chambers, Kenny Dorham, Ray Drummond, Art Farmer, Tommy Flanagan, Curtis Fuller, Gigi Gryce, Barry Harris, Eddie Henderson, J.J. Johnson, Wynton Kelly, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Arthur Taylor, and others.
Original Release Date: January 20, 2009 – Label: Concord Music Group
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Hank Mobley – Soul Station (1960 – Blue Note)
Often overlooked, perhaps because he wasn’t a great innovator in jazz but merely a stellar performer, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley was at the peak of his powers on Soul Station. Recorded with a superstar quartet including Art Blakey on drums, Paul Chambers on bass, and Wynton Kelly on piano, it was the first album since Mobley’s 1955 debut to feature him as a leader without any other accompanying horns. The clean, uncomplicated sound that resulted from that grouping helps make it the best among his albums and a peak moment during a particularly strong period in his career. Mobley has no problem running the show here, and he does it without being flashy or burying the strong work of his sidemen. The solidness of his technique means that he can handle material that is occasionally rhythmically intricate, while still maintaining the kind of easy roundness and warmth displayed by the best players of the swing era. Two carefully chosen standards, “Remember” and “If I Should Lose You,” help to reinforce that impression by casting an eye back to the classic jazz era. They bookend four Mobley originals that, in contrast, reflect the best of small-group composition with their lightness and tight dynamics. Overall, this is a stellar set from one of the more underrated musicians of the bop era. ~ Stacia Proefrock, All Music Guide
Original Release Date: February 7, 1960 – Label: Blue Note Records
Across Rhythm 