Backgrounder: Hank Mobley Quintet, 1957

Recorded in August 1957, Hank Mobely Quintet featured the tenor saxophonist fronting a band that had been an early lineup of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. The only difference was that Art Farmer played trumpet instead of Kenny Dorham.

The quintet featured Hank Mobley (ts), Art Farmer (tp), Horace Silver (p), Doug Watkins (b) and Art Blakey (d). The six tracks were all by Mobley, showing him off to be as inventive a composer as he was a tenor saxophonist.

Mobley here is in excellent form—big, bossy and slippery. Farmer's dancing trumpet is a treat,  Silver is on fire throughout, Watkins runs thick notes and Blakey adds the energy and fireworks.

Here's Hank Mobley Quintet without ad interruptions...