I’m not sure where these guys at Uptown Records find these obscure recordings, but they are like the Sherlock Holmes of mainstream jazz, looking for every clue until some gem of a session is discovered. Do they use enhanced interrogation for leads? If they do, these guys are the Jack Bauers of reissue labels.
This one is a 2 cd set of tenor saxist Hank Mobley, just before he became one of the most sought after sidemen with the likes of Horace Silver and Miles Davis (as well as putting out some highly impressive discs out on Blue Note as a leader himself). Here, he’s fronting a bop quintet with Bennie Green/tb, Walter Davis Jr/p, Jimmy Schenck/b and Charli Persip/dr for just under two hours of solid music at an NJ club, and the band has a nice vibe to it on this mono recording of better than bootleg/not hi-fi sound quality.
The band stretches out on a 13 minute take of “Ow” with Mobley sounding pretty mature for a 23 year old. A ballad medley features Mobley’s round tone on a lovely “Darn That Dream” while Green’s “Body and Soul” and Davis’ “Love in Vain” have a graceful aplomb. Green again is spotlighted on a gorgeous “Embraceable You,” and the whole band, filling the evening with some toe-tapping mid tempo gems, cleans up the evening with very hip takes of “Pennies from Heaven” and “S’Wonderful” and Mobley supplying highly lyrical and well crafted solos, that could almost be themes of songs in themselves. These guys just make swinging sound so easy, yet these days it seems about as rare as an honest politician. Get this one and have a fun listen.
Uptown Records
www.uptownrecords.net