Mobley's Message

This is tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley’s first release on the Prestige label, after one previous Blue Note release. Here he is joined by Donald Byrd (trumpet), Barry Harris (piano), Doug Watkins (bass) and Art Taylor (drum) with a guest appearance from Jackie McLean (alto saxophone) on one track. As one might expected, the program is quite "be boppy", with the band running through bop standards like Bud Powell "Bouncing with Bud", Monk’s "52nd Street" and Parker’s "Au Privave". Mobley’s supremely confident solos are highlights of these tracks and he swings through the rather plain arrangements of  "Bouncing with Bud" and "Au Privave", with exceptional phrasing and melodic finesse, through Byrd’s and Harris’s solos as satisfying as well.