Hank has always been one of my favorites i have a lot of his music,,..sadly he is underrated or unknown to many,,. Peckin Time ; Soul Station oh yeah!!
Wonderful overview of one of my most favorite tenor players. Did not know about his later years health problems; pretty heartbreaking. A vastly underrated jazz giant; always rewarding and satisfying.
I have loved his sound and when I say he is my fav, I must admit people dismiss me... I think it is outstanding with a sound the is uniquely his own... Hank is a Giant of Bop....
Hank was my mom's guy. She really dug his work. I didn't get it as a youngster. I was on the funk with James Brown, Sly, the Isleys, Motown, and the Philly sound(I grew up in West Philly; Barbara Mason, the Intruders, etc). When I really started getting into jazz as an older guy, I checked out Hank. My personal favorite song of his is "The Morning After" with Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, and McCoy Tyner. It's on a album called "A Caddy For Daddy". A stone cold jam....!
That was really a smart and well structured video. Really really great job guys. I feel like I could recognize. Mobley’s playing anywhere now. Not bad for a trumpet player.
Well, because cats like Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter , George Coleman, Charles Lloyd and other greats were all walking on the planet during that Hard Bop era.
I've always thought that Mobley was so underrated because he didn't have a big sound like some of the other tenors. Just a sweet, and very melodic, highly intelligent approach to the music.
My Pop had Roll Call and I loved it and became a big Hank Mobley fan. I’ve been a tenor player in Chicago for 30+ years now, and I still dig Hank. He was very sophisticated and subtle, and ended up being overshadowed by his contemporaries John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, who were more aggressive. The story of Miles putting him down has, I feel, an undiscussed facet to it. Miles liked to hire really aggressive soloists like Cannonball and ‘Trane, so when they were done breathing fire Miles could stroll nonchalantly into the picture and squeeze out a few choice and tasty notes. Mobley was just as cool and understated as Miles, so the contrast was lost and Miles knew it and dispensed with Hank. It was a good decision aesthetically, but Miles must have felt bad about it, so he impugned Hank’s approach to make it Hank’s fault. Really nice video. I hope more people check Hank out because of it.
Thank you. Hank Mobley was so deep into harmony and miles was moving away from that trying to stay relevant. Music was going in a different direction. Thanks for watching.
It's a real shame how the great Hank Mobley was so underrated as a player.During the 60's he made lots of recordings and many were released years later after being recorded.Mobley a true hard bop technician all the way until he couldn't play anymore.Hell i am sure he could have done with the money from those recordings at the time.Playing Lee Morgan's RAJAH.Mobley swinging melodically. Next up on the turntable is FAR AWAY LANDS.All hail Hank Mobley.
I don't think I agree that Mobley was harmonically more advanced than other musicians of his generation or even earlier generations. Maybe he knew more about harmony on a conscious level than others but when I transcribe his stuff it's just mainstream jazz harmony. Nothing wrong with that, I love it. But there are no tricks you wouldn't expect from someone who knows his chord changes and substitutions
For sure. But we have 85 year old people who believe music started with Elvis. That’s the majority. You think they know who Hank Mobley is ?thanks for watching.
He's not unfamiliar to me - after a semester in David Baker's Jazz Combo history class 31 years ago - he was on a lot of the records on our listening list.
Just my opinion here, but I prefer Mobley's recordings as a leader more than his sideman dates. In an era where we had Johhny Griffin, Sonny Stitt, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon and later Joe Henderson, Mobley's light sound gets drowned out and it's the same when he's got someone like Art Blakey behind him on those live dates, Mobley's gentle sound gets swallowed up..at least to me anyway. To me it sounds unbalanced. I just think he sounded better when he could control the environment around him, like on Soul Station for example where you can relax and really appreciate his gorgeous sound and lyricism.
Opinions & superlatives make subjective presuppositions. There are no truths, just more or less tragic life-cycles. Jazz is both devilish & divine - 2 many succumbed to smack.
He's not underrated at all in my opinion. Mobley sits exactly where he should be in terms noteriety. He was a wonderful player, but he wasn't an innovator and he certainly wasn't a standout among an era of biggest boldest tenor players this music has produced.
you make some good points but harmonically while the public was concerned with the big sound Mobley was quietly tearing it up,it was Mobley and Rollins. Swinging with right notes to the right chords. They couldn’t be beat. Rollins loved Coleman Hawkins so he had that bold sound Mobley doesn’t get the credit because the public don’t know about harmony. Dexter Gordon used to call Hank Mobley “Hankenstein” thanks for watching.
Was Hankenstein meant to be an insult or a compliment? It's reminiscent of the name of a crazy scientist...I'm studying jazz in college and personally I don't see how Mobley would be harmonically superior to say Coltrane or Dexter Gordon or even Sonny Stitt. I do think he's underrated though, like most musicians in general are
@isaacj6212 I agree. The expression "underrated" is getting overrated in Yt comment "culture" !!! Suggest conjure up new avenues of/in wording. Eddie Jefferson created plenty of new words before gettin shot by his pusher - the price of addiction avantgarde ; inflation creates stagflation. Judge the rest. Mobley s fate wasn t unique, it was quite common in the discoish 70s.
Familiarity / appreciation are hard to gauge. Race probably played a role in limiting this brilliant man’s career - Stan Getz was from the same generation, was also battling substance abuse, but had way more fortune and fame (and was also a wonderfully creative/melodic player).
Giant of Hard bop? What is hard bop? If Mobley is a "giant", there are thousands of giants in Jazz A good sax, without any doubt. He didn't invent anything. And not "underrated" at all, he had a wonderfull career.
Difficult to take tour criticism seriously if you claim not to know what hard bop is… but, yes he is one of the greats of sax in that era. Does that make him a ‘giant’. Who cares. And yes he is underrated, compared to Coltrane, Rollins, he is relatively unknown outside of jazz fans.
@@edwardjons8684 Difficult to compare Rollins , Coltrane and Mobley, who is far behind the two guys . If you can explain to me what is "hard bop", I will happy to learn that. It is a fake invented by a journalist that did not play a music note of his life. Bop is a musical reality, not "Hard bop" which could be explained as a minor bop, but who knows about minor mode in an audience or for journalists? Do you play music? If yes, could you show me how to play "How high the moon" , "Tenor madness" or "Blues for Alice" in "Bop" way and in "Hard bop" way? I'd love to hear this.
@@Thouveninpascal Listen to this: th-cam.com/video/t8jFGFwOm7k/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Q85pRrxJBOyNIGtI for example. It's a blues structure, but very different to Blues for Alice in Parker's way. It's not a "minor bop" but a different way to use jazz language emphasizing various rhythmics solutions, incorporating gospel, R&B (or caribbean in this case) melodics and harmonics ideas, writing simpler but incisive tunes with tipical riffs very similar to church hymns and popular blues. Well, I don't want to start an argument, I'm only tring to answer to your question as I can. We all love music and It's a great gift to listen very easily to a lot of different styles. Have a nice time
I think it comes down to the fact that Mobley lovers get a very high degree of pleasure from following his intelligent, melodic, and harmonically sophisticated lines. His sound doesn't grab you as do some of the other tenor greats, but if you listen closely and stay with him, it's almost always a pretty blissful ride!
Soul station is one of the greatest jazz recordings in the history of jazz.
Hank has always been one of my favorites i have a lot of his music,,..sadly he is underrated or unknown to many,,. Peckin Time ; Soul Station oh yeah!!
"This I dig of you" is one of the greatest cuts on any jazz album.
Great
That’s a really good one - Art Blakey swings that one all the way up to 125th Street and back again.
Slice of the top, is one of the greatest compositions of all time.
The most melodic tenor sax of his generation. And quite possibly the most underrated too.
@@josesanchez-os7zr next to Sonny Rollins my favorite
One of the most underated great jazz musicians of all time. Also an overlooked incredibly brilliant composer's.
Wonderful overview of one of my most favorite tenor players. Did not know about his later years health problems; pretty heartbreaking. A vastly underrated jazz giant; always rewarding and satisfying.
Thank you. He was great.
Viva 🌟 Mr. Hank Mobley ❤️🌟
Thank you for this coverage
I have loved his sound and when I say he is my fav, I must admit people dismiss me... I think it is outstanding with a sound the is uniquely his own... Hank is a Giant of Bop....
Hank was my mom's guy. She really dug his work. I didn't get it as a youngster. I was on the funk with James Brown, Sly, the Isleys, Motown, and the Philly sound(I grew up in West Philly; Barbara Mason, the Intruders, etc). When I really started getting into jazz as an older guy, I checked out Hank. My personal favorite song of his is "The Morning After" with Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, and McCoy Tyner. It's on a album called "A Caddy For Daddy". A stone cold jam....!
Excellent. Thank you for watching.
I'm a Mobley fan and have several of his records - nice to see this!
Thanks very much for this. Respectful overview.
Thank you
Great stuff! So sad that he ended up in such a low place.
Definitely one the greats. Right up there with Trane and Rollins.
love the jazz saxophone and I too think Hank Mobley was definitely the middle champion of bebop!......
He was great
That was really a smart and well structured video. Really really great job guys. I feel like I could recognize. Mobley’s playing anywhere now. Not bad for a trumpet player.
Great piece acknowledging the "king of the middleweights!"
Love Hank Mobley! Thanks for this
Great! I love listening to Hank Mobley!
A great tenor player-I've never understood why he was so underrated.
Well, because cats like Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter , George Coleman, Charles Lloyd and other greats were all walking on the planet during that Hard Bop era.
Also, the great alto player, C. Sharpe, even though he was a little young during the late '50s early '60 era, but he became an amazing player.
I think I’d put Mobley in front of everyone you mentioned except Rollins. But that’s just me.
I've always thought that Mobley was so underrated because he didn't have a big sound like some of the other tenors. Just a sweet, and very melodic, highly intelligent approach to the music.
RIP Hank 🙏
Such a melodic tenor player and fabulous composer, thanks for putting this review together 🎷👍👍
in the shadow of Trane and Rollins incredible player
he never played anything on blue note you had to struggle to like,Mobley/Morgan my favorite tenor/trumpet collab
My Pop had Roll Call and I loved it and became a big Hank Mobley fan. I’ve been a tenor player in Chicago for 30+ years now, and I still dig Hank. He was very sophisticated and subtle, and ended up being overshadowed by his contemporaries John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, who were more aggressive.
The story of Miles putting him down has, I feel, an undiscussed facet to it. Miles liked to hire really aggressive soloists like Cannonball and ‘Trane, so when they were done breathing fire Miles could stroll nonchalantly into the picture and squeeze out a few choice and tasty notes. Mobley was just as cool and understated as Miles, so the contrast was lost and Miles knew it and dispensed with Hank. It was a good decision aesthetically, but Miles must have felt bad about it, so he impugned Hank’s approach to make it Hank’s fault.
Really nice video. I hope more people check Hank out because of it.
Thank you. Hank Mobley was so deep into harmony and miles was moving away from that trying to stay relevant. Music was going in a different direction. Thanks for watching.
lets face it from many accounts Miles wasn't long on the milk of human kindness
One of my absolute favorites. Great video!
This is very much appreciated…. Thanks
Very underrated!! Thank you for this exposure.
Thank you...
It's a real shame how the great Hank Mobley was so underrated as a player.During the 60's he made lots of recordings and many were released years later after being recorded.Mobley a true hard bop technician all the way until he couldn't play anymore.Hell i am sure he could have done with the money from those recordings at the time.Playing Lee Morgan's RAJAH.Mobley swinging melodically. Next up on the turntable is FAR AWAY LANDS.All hail Hank Mobley.
He had a tough life. But he was great. He played his ass off.
“Whistle Stop” with Kenny Dorham. A classic.
Great
Cool vid 😎
Good episode. Can you do Tina Brooks and Zoot Sims? Thanks!
I’m doing terry pollard next and then I’ll do Tina brooks
Great channel! Subscribed
@@wbjr6715 thank you
Most melodic saxophonist of all time
Next to Sonny Rollins I totally agree.
Perhaps Stan Getz too.
..and Dexter Gordon
I don't think I agree that Mobley was harmonically more advanced than other musicians of his generation or even earlier generations. Maybe he knew more about harmony on a conscious level than others but when I transcribe his stuff it's just mainstream jazz harmony. Nothing wrong with that, I love it. But there are no tricks you wouldn't expect from someone who knows his chord changes and substitutions
Well versed. No one knew more about harmony than Hank Mobley.
Unfamiliar? I hope not . One of the Giants of our national treasure:Jazz .
For sure. But we have 85 year old people who believe music started with Elvis. That’s the majority. You think they know who Hank Mobley is ?thanks for watching.
The most insane part of all of this is that he got good enough to play with roach and Gillespie after only 4 years of playing.
That’s something I’ve thought about with all these players. How good and how fast they all got there. Thanks for watching.
BigOnBebop.Enjoying your vids.Any chance of showcasing two Tenor greats BOOKER ERVIN and JOE FARREL?
Got a few in line ahead but the goal is to have as many as I can. Thanks for watching.
Everyone who knows the term hard bop knows Hank Mobley.
You would hope
@@BigOnBebop Elmo Hope?
The “middleweight champion” of the sax 😂
He's not unfamiliar to me - after a semester in David Baker's Jazz Combo history class 31 years ago - he was on a lot of the records on our listening list.
You were lucky. Education is the key. Shout out to Mr. Baker's Jazz Combo history class!
Just my opinion here, but I prefer Mobley's recordings as a leader more than his sideman dates. In an era where we had Johhny Griffin, Sonny Stitt, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon and later Joe Henderson, Mobley's light sound gets drowned out and it's the same when he's got someone like Art Blakey behind him on those live dates, Mobley's gentle sound gets swallowed up..at least to me anyway. To me it sounds unbalanced.
I just think he sounded better when he could control the environment around him, like on Soul Station for example where you can relax and really appreciate his gorgeous sound and lyricism.
Not in my circles
Mine either
Opinions & superlatives make subjective presuppositions. There are no truths, just more or less tragic life-cycles. Jazz is both devilish & divine - 2 many succumbed to smack.
He's not underrated at all in my opinion. Mobley sits exactly where he should be in terms noteriety. He was a wonderful player, but he wasn't an innovator and he certainly wasn't a standout among an era of biggest boldest tenor players this music has produced.
you make some good points but harmonically while the public was concerned with the big sound Mobley was quietly tearing it up,it was Mobley and Rollins. Swinging with right notes to the right chords. They couldn’t be beat. Rollins loved Coleman Hawkins so he had that bold sound Mobley doesn’t get the credit because the public don’t know about harmony. Dexter Gordon used to call Hank Mobley “Hankenstein” thanks for watching.
Was Hankenstein meant to be an insult or a compliment? It's reminiscent of the name of a crazy scientist...I'm studying jazz in college and personally I don't see how Mobley would be harmonically superior to say Coltrane or Dexter Gordon or even Sonny Stitt. I do think he's underrated though, like most musicians in general are
@isaacj6212 I agree. The expression "underrated" is getting overrated in Yt comment "culture" !!! Suggest conjure up new avenues of/in wording. Eddie Jefferson created plenty of new words before gettin shot by his pusher - the price of addiction avantgarde ; inflation creates stagflation. Judge the rest. Mobley s fate wasn t unique, it was quite common in the discoish 70s.
@@ernstaugustvonsachsen6925 a compliment. Suggesting he was a monster player.
We just reading Wikipedia now? Don't knock the hustle. Wrong cover for workout
Encyclopedia of Jazz. Shout out to Ira Gitler.
@@BigOnBebop ultimate would be literally having every encyclopedia being read by ai with auto videos
@@Joe-yi8xj ha. If I talked harmony would you get it? Angry guy.
Unfamiliar??? I beg to differ. Unfamiliar to whom?
People who aren’t musicians.
But he was great
And people who aren't aficionados of the art.
@@ronjohnson4328 for sure
Familiarity / appreciation are hard to gauge. Race probably played a role in limiting this brilliant man’s career - Stan Getz was from the same generation, was also battling substance abuse, but had way more fortune and fame (and was also a wonderfully creative/melodic player).
Giant of Hard bop?
What is hard bop?
If Mobley is a "giant", there are thousands of giants in Jazz
A good sax, without any doubt.
He didn't invent anything.
And not "underrated" at all, he had a wonderfull career.
Difficult to take tour criticism seriously if you claim not to know what hard bop is… but, yes he is one of the greats of sax in that era. Does that make him a ‘giant’. Who cares. And yes he is underrated, compared to Coltrane, Rollins, he is relatively unknown outside of jazz fans.
Exactly.
@@edwardjons8684 Difficult to compare Rollins , Coltrane and Mobley, who is far behind the two guys .
If you can explain to me what is "hard bop", I will happy to learn that. It is a fake invented by a journalist that did not play a music note of his life.
Bop is a musical reality, not "Hard bop" which could be explained as a minor bop, but who knows about minor mode in an audience or for journalists?
Do you play music? If yes, could you show me how to play "How high the moon" , "Tenor madness" or "Blues for Alice" in "Bop" way and in "Hard bop" way? I'd love to hear this.
@@Thouveninpascal Listen to this: th-cam.com/video/t8jFGFwOm7k/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Q85pRrxJBOyNIGtI for example. It's a blues structure, but very different to Blues for Alice in Parker's way. It's not a "minor bop" but a different way to use jazz language emphasizing various rhythmics solutions, incorporating gospel, R&B (or caribbean in this case) melodics and harmonics ideas, writing simpler but incisive tunes with tipical riffs very similar to church hymns and popular blues. Well, I don't want to start an argument, I'm only tring to answer to your question as I can. We all love music and It's a great gift to listen very easily to a lot of different styles. Have a nice time
I think it comes down to the fact that Mobley lovers get a very high degree of pleasure from following his intelligent, melodic, and harmonically sophisticated lines. His sound doesn't grab you as do some of the other tenor greats, but if you listen closely and stay with him, it's almost always a pretty blissful ride!