Requisites
Poppin’ ~ Hank Mobley | By Eddie Carter
Up next from the library is a recent acquisition by a member of The Jazz Messengers and a superb tenor saxophonist of the first order. Hank Mobley steps into the spotlight with his 2020 release Poppin’ (Blue Note Tone Poet Series B0030597-01). It was the third of four dates Hank recorded that year and he leads an outstanding sextet consisting of Art Farmer on trumpet; Pepper Adams on baritone sax; Sonny Clark on piano; Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The title tune by Mobley kicks off Side One with a vigorously energetic melody in unison. Sonny is up first, delivering each note with radiant heat, illustrating he was maturing and developing the style that would make him one of Blue Note’s most frequently recorded musicians. Pepper steps in next, building each verse with zestful virtuosity, then Art attacks the next solo with great relish. Hank executes a knockout performance next and Philly closes with propelling force ahead of the reprise and coda.
Darn That Dream, written in 1939 by Jimmy Van Heusen and Eddie De Lange made its debut in the Broadway musical Swingin’ The Dream that premiered that year. The sextet opens with a brief introduction by the trio and a pensive opening chorus led by Mobley who begins with a softly expressive interpretation. Farmer also gives a voluptuously pretty muted performance revealing his intimate feelings. Adams follows with a reading exhibiting sensual beauty, then Clark takes the final spot on a deeply enticing solo leading to Hank’s poignantly affecting ending. Getting’ Into Something, also by the leader ends Side One with the ensemble presenting a lively melody. Hank goes first with a vibrant performance that starts the listener’s finger-snapping and foot-tapping. Art follows with a dazzling display of fireworks, then Pepper takes over for a captivating presentation of creative excitement and Sonny caps the solos with electrifying enthusiasm driving straight into the closing chorus.
Tune-Up by Miles Davis starts Side Two, giving everyone a chance for extensive solos starting with a brief introduction by Jones leading the way into the sextet’s collective melody. Miles wrote it in 1953 and it originally appeared on the ten-inch LP, Miles Davis Quartet a year later. Farmer brings the heat on a fiery hot opening solo, then Pepper takes flight next proceeding swiftly through an exhilarating statement. Clark fills the next spot of a hard-driving performance with a spontaneous lyricism that burns brightly and strongly. Paul heats up the fourth solo, walking briskly with blazing bass lines, then Hank raises the temperature a few degrees higher on the next solo with electrical energy. Philly puts the exclamation point on the song with a short statement of ferocious intensity leading to the summation. Hank’s East of Brooklyn closes the album with a soulful Latin flavor on the melody by the sextet. The leader starts the solos with a charismatic performance, then Art steps up next to spread a little joy on the second statement. Pepper displays his remarkable gift for straight-ahead bop on a gorgeous reading next, and Sonny reveals the hands of a master in a splendid interpretation that’s a treat to hear. Paul provides the perfect ending in a nicely conceived, well-executed presentation that says something succinctly before the ensemble’s reprise and exit.
Hank Mobley was also a prolific and gifted composer, whether he wrote tender ballads or torrid uptempo tunes, each work is so eminently enjoyable to listen to and several have become jazz standards. He recorded a total of twenty albums for Blue Note from 1955 to 1970, and also made records for Prestige, Roulette, Savoy and one LP for Cobblestone as co-leader of The Cedar Walton-Hank Mobley Quintet. His time with The Jazz Messengers, Miles Davis, Horace Silver and as a leader served him well as one of the best and most sought-after tenor saxophonists in Hard-Bop and Soul-Jazz during the sixties and early seventies. Lung problems from smoking would force Hank to retire in the mid-seventies. He worked only two more times performing once in 1985 and an engagement a few months before his death from pneumonia at the age of fifty-five on May 30, 1986.
The music on Poppin’ was exquisitely recorded by Rudy Van Gelder and the sound quality is simply breathtaking. The album was analog remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original master tapes, and the reissue was supervised by Joe Harley of Music Matters Jazz. The result is the sextet emerges from your speakers with superb detail and fidelity from each of the instruments as if they’re playing right in front of you. Like their MMJ cousins, the Blue Note Tone Poet Series reissues utilize 180-gram audiophile vinyl, are plated and pressed at RTI, and come in deluxe gatefold packaging with photos worthy of hanging on your listening room wall. The three-horn lineup of Pepper Adams, Art Farmer, and the leader make a formidable front line together and are all excellent soloists. The music swings throughout each selection with the superb ensemble work provided by Sonny Clark, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones. In short, Poppin’ by Hank Mobley is a stellar fifties session that I not only recommend but feel will be welcomed in the libraries of any new or seasoned jazz fan!
~ Miles Davis Quartet (Prestige PRLP-161); The Complete Blue Note Hank Mobley Fifties Sessions (Mosaic Records MQ10-181) – Source: Discogs.com
~ Darn That Dream, Swingin’ The Dream – Source: JazzStandards.com
~ RTI is the abbreviation for Record Technologies, Inc.
~ Hank Mobley – Source: Wikipedia.org
Poppin’ is an album recorded in 1957 by saxophonist Hank Mobley but wasn’t released on Blue Note Japan until 1980.
Track List | 40:18
All compositions by Hank Mobley except as indicated
- Poppin’ ~ 6:33
- Darn That Dream (DeLange, VanHeusen) ~ 6:10
- Gettin’ Into Something ~ 6:33
- Tune-Up (Davis) ~ 10:53
- East Of Brooklyn ~ 10:09
Personnel
- Hank Mobley – tenor saxophone
- Art Farmer – trumpet
- Pepper Adams – baritone saxophone
- Sonny Clark – piano
- Paul Chambers – bass
- Philly Joe Jones – drums
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