Hank Mobley

[Chuck Nessa]

Indeed.

 

[Gheorghe]

On 27.5.2022 at 9:14 AM, mhatta said:

I heard there were several "come back" attempts for Hank in the 80s.  I guess this is the last (or near last) live recording?  Rusty indeed, but not bad for a man who only had one lung at this point...

 

How to say: It´s almost a miracle that Hank Mobley at that stage of health (only one lung, and bad teeth) could blow a single note. I also suppose that he didn´t have the money to buy a really good instrument. I remember that once he said he would look for a "decent saxophone".......

Of course, that bad sound quality doesn´t help much and some unsure intonations ar coroborated through the fact that the tape player wavers badly. 

I remember when I was a teenager and we had a club gig and I asked a friend to record the stuff on tape player it also sounded bad, because you don´t hear the real groove, it often sounds like mud. And this is not only due to poor musicians. A friend managed to get a little tape recorder with integrated mike into the 1976 Mingus performance in Vienna and it also sounds that way.....

But even if Mobley´s saxophone sound is weak and unsure, you hear that his musical mind was intact and with more physical ability it would have sounded great. For someone who knows the secrets of Mobley´s imagination, he will recognice that a great musical mind is working, physically in terrible shape and with a bad axe, but yet he thinks music.

When I lead a series of jam session there was a really weak saxophonist sittin in on each occasion and he had a similar sound .... not due to illness but to lack of knowledge of the instrument.....but other than Mobley his lines also were weak. He played "Softly like a morning sunrise" or "Footprints" from sheet and the improvisations was only the same "hoo-bah hoo-bah doo-bah". I could have killed that guy since he also placed his beer on the piano. Once I shouted at him that if he doesn´t know to play, at least he should have respect for the instrument....

I assume that Mobley didn´t even have a health insurance, with some good medical help, a new dantura and healthy food he could have had some more years. Man, to dye that way ....not in the 1920´s but in 1986 is really a drag....

P.S.: Does somebody know why he had only one lung ? (cancer ????). Once I have heard that Curtis Fuller also was operated on lung had remained with only one lung.

[Holy Ghost]

Not a medical doctor, but guessing tobacco. Dude liked to smoke. 

[Gheorghe]

13 hours ago, Holy Ghost said:

Not a medical doctor, but guessing tobacco. Dude liked to smoke. 

Yeah maybe. There is almost no photo of Hank without a cigarette. 

You can enjoy tobacco, but you should not "eat" it like peanuts....., so maybe it was lung cancer or emphysema (Dexter also had emphysema and throat cancer and almost sure liver cirrhosis due to excessive drinking). 

[Niko]

from the Philadelphia Inquirer, 23 October 1983... The continuation on page 24 is very brief: 

like you used to?" He smiled warmly. "It will probably happen." Then he pointed toward the sky and looked up. "If He let's me"

[Gheorghe]

23 minutes ago, Niko said:

from the Philadelphia Inquirer, 23 October 1983... The continuation on page 24 is very brief: 

like you used to?" He smiled warmly. "It will probably happen." Then he pointed toward the sky and looked up. "If He let's me"

Thank you so much for sharing this with us. But I´m glad to read here, that Mobley was not "homeless" like some press reports stated. 

[Dan Gould]

2 hours ago, Niko said:

from the Philadelphia Inquirer, 23 October 1983... The continuation on page 24 is very brief: 

like you used to?" He smiled warmly. "It will probably happen." Then he pointed toward the sky and looked up. "If He let's me"

Thank you for posting this.

(And may I say, they didn't need the super short continuation. That paragraph about the no-name "cutting" contest begs for a trim.)

2 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

Thank you so much for sharing this with us. But I´m glad to read here, that Mobley was not "homeless" like some press reports stated. 

I think this demonstrates that at the time, Hank was not homeless. But I believe the reports were that he was "sometimes homeless."

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I don't know that this story confirms that Mobley was not having money problems nor that he had a steady place to live. Not many people will admit to either condition in life, especially the guys from Hank's generation. I bet if the interviewer asked him how he was feeling, he'd probably say he was "fine". That's all my dad ever said until the day he died.

[Holy Ghost]

7 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

Yeah maybe. There is almost no photo of Hank without a cigarette. 

You can enjoy tobacco, but you should not "eat" it like peanuts....., so maybe it was lung cancer or emphysema (Dexter also had emphysema and throat cancer and almost sure liver cirrhosis due to excessive drinking). 

This dude got him beat. Who's got that dude beat?  Mal Waldron. That's who. Every fucking cover, he's smoking. Think that dude lived, breathed and dreamt about cigarettes.  Only time I think when it comes to puffing big time is Blakey, or that Elvin Jones and Richard Davis Impulse record, where they're smoking like there's another carton more to smoke.   That whole album cover is smothered  in smoke. 

[Holy Ghost]

1 hour ago, bresna said:

I don't know that this story confirms that Mobley was not having money problems nor that he had a steady place to live. Not many people will admit to either condition in life, especially the guys from Hank's generation. I bet if the interviewer asked him how he was feeling, he'd probably say he was "fine". That's all my dad ever said until the day he died.

Yeah. Knowing what he left us, a treasure, this is sad. I can't imagine not having his records in my listening realm. He really gave us everything and left everything in return. 

[Holy Ghost]

This dude lived jazz (Miles, Lou, Pepper, Chet, Gerry...) This life is tough. Abandonment, how do you want to call it, the "industry" turned their back on Hank. 80's, blah.  

[sidewinder]

Interesting article here on one of Hank’s tenors - reputedly given to Ronnie Scott in the late 60s (‘68?) and recently bought by the fine UK tenor, Art Themen.

I think Art is playing Swanage in July so hopefully he will give this tenor an ‘airing’.

Mobley Tenor Article

Edited June 1, 2022 by sidewinder

[mjzee]

This caught my eye.  It's an upcoming reissue listed by Dusty Groove:

https://www.dustygroove.com/item/163665/Sarah-Vaughan:Embraceable-You?incl_cs=1&no_incl_in=1&sort_order=release_date

I found no listing with Vaughan in Mobley's discography on jazzdisco.org.  The description on DG is, by their own admission, not helpful.  I see that Mobley played with Dizzy in the mid-50's.  Anyone have info on these tracks?

 

 

[jazzbo]

A bit of info here:

 

https://www.discogs.com/release/9088005-Sarah-Vaughan-Embraceable-You

 

Since Legge is with Diz and Mobley too, here probably '53 or '54.

Edited January 14 by jazzbo

[felser]

First 10 tracks are a live later with James trio.  Tracks 11 and 12 are with Diz's group from early on.  I have the Laserlight of this.  It's pleasant enough but absolutely not essential, even for Sassy fans (I'm a big one).

[mjzee]

Thanks.

[Stevie Mclean]

On 5/30/2022 at 6:51 AM, Holy Ghost said:

This dude got him beat. Who's got that dude beat?  Mal Waldron. That's who. Every fucking cover, he's smoking. Think that dude lived, breathed and dreamt about cigarettes.  Only time I think when it comes to puffing big time is Blakey, or that Elvin Jones and Richard Davis Impulse record, where they're smoking like there's another carton more to smoke.   That whole album cover is smothered  in smoke. 

I think you might be thinking of Mal's green medicinal cigarettes. I remember a documentary where he talks about needing them to manage the consequences of his overdose.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

On 5/30/2022 at 9:51 AM, Holy Ghost said:

This dude got him beat. Who's got that dude beat?  Mal Waldron. That's who. Every fucking cover, he's smoking. Think that dude lived, breathed and dreamt about cigarettes.  Only time I think when it comes to puffing big time is Blakey, or that Elvin Jones and Richard Davis Impulse record, where they're smoking like there's another carton more to smoke.   That whole album cover is smothered  in smoke. 

I was told that Mal Waldron stopped playing in the US because they had banned smoking in the clubs. Because of that, I never got to see him play live.

I actually tried seeing him when I was in Munich on business and saw his name on a flyer for a Jazz club. I jumped onto the U-Bahn to go and when I got off the train, I was nowhere near the club. After wandering around for about a half hour, I gave up and headed back to my hotel. Kicking myself for that but this was before smartphones and I wasn't comfortable walking up to strangers in Germany to ask in English where the local Jazz club was. It wasn't in the best section of town.