Biographies: Hank Mobley (~all·about·jazz)

Hank Mobley

Born: July 7, 1930
Died: May 30, 1986
Instrument: Tenor Saxophone

As one of the founding members of the original Jazz Messengers, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley was part of a brilliant innovation. Bebop's second generation of players had pulled the music into a tailspin of virtuosity. But there was a new inspirational sound taking hold, with roots in gospel and blues. By combining the best of bebop with the soulful new thing springing up, Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley and Doug Watkins fashioned a sound with a percussive, street feel inspired by the hot steam grates and pavement they walked, the propulsive drive of the lives they were leading.

Articles: Hank Mobley, by Leonard Feather (~jazzdiscography.com)

Henry (Hank) Mobley has been called "The middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone."

That is to say, he is not to be compared (and this judgment is made in terms of size of sound as well as such values as fame, fortune and poll victories) with heavyweights like Coleman Hawkins or John Coltrane; nor is there any necessity to relate him to the tonal lightweights, headed by Stan Getz and the various artists of this school who came to prominence around the same time.

Hank is the middleweight champion because his sound, as he once put it himself, is "not a big sound, not a small sound, just a round sound" and because, while fads and fancies change, he has remained for some 15 years a consistently successful performer, working almost exclusively as a sideman except on records, and retaining a firm, loyal following.

Hank was born in Eastman, Georgia, July 7, 1930, but was raised in New Jersey. He studied with a private teacher. When he was 20 years old he played in Paul Gayten's orchestra. A year later he came to the attention of jazz fans and critics through an association with Max Roach that lasted off and on for two or three years.

Hank Mobley, 1930 - 1986, Tenor Saxophonist

Hank Mobley, 1930 - 1986, Tenor Saxophonist