Appropriately titled as Mobley and the band are gettin' after it here. And, as mentioned in the Stereo Review (below), the band often steals the show, particularly Wynton Kelly and Grant Green. Except for Green, this band was also gigging with Miles Davis around the same time and recorded such albums as Someday My Prince Will Come (1961) with Miles.
Original liner notes by Leonard Feather.
Mobley - tenor saxophone
Grant Green - guitar
Wynton Kelly - piano
Paul Chambers - bass
Philly Joe Jones - drums
Reviews/ratings:
- Stereo Review: "Mobley is much less interesting than his supporting cast"
- Billboard (★★★★): "bright, swinging work here"
- The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★½
- The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
- The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★½
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Tracks: Four Mobley originals plus a standard cover. While the originals aren't anything particularly memorable, they certainly get the job done with fast tempi and blazing solos, particularly the title track. Things slow down slightly at the end with of The Best Things In Life Are Free (from the 1927 musical, Good News) and the album closer, Greasin' Easy. My favorite cut here is the swinging, bluesy Uh Huh.
This 2006 Rudy Van Gelder edition of the CD contains a bonus track, a rather pedestrian take on the Academy Award-winning standard Three Coins In A Fountain.
All tracks recorded at the same session on Sunday, March 26, 1961. Later in 1961, the same band (minus Green) recorded a follow-up album, titled Another Workout. However, that album wasn't released until 1985 - pressuring artists into making albums then not releasing them was sometimes a problem at Blue Note.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None - picked this up within the past few years as my fascination with '60s hard bop took more of my time and money.
Previously revisited for the blog:
Roll Call (1961)
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