Jazz Series 2: Hank Mobley - Roll Call
Roll Call
Roll Call is the second album I've heard from Hank Mobley, the first being Soul Station, which is my all time favorite hard bop album. So the expectations were high going into this. The lineup only served to increase my expectations too, with Hank Mobley on sax, my favorite trumpeter ever, Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and my favorite drummer ever, Art Blakey. Needless to say, I was excited. Did it live up to my high expectations?
Let's not beat around the bush, this album is excellent. Hard bop isn't typically my favorite jazz subgenre, but for Hank Mobley I make an exception. Something about his songwriting is so compelling, and his soloing is so melodic and lyrical, his tone is so rich and full. Take for example, the title track. This is a blistering, energetic tune with some of the most firey solos I've heard from Mobley and Blakey. In its 10 minute length it stays interesting and exciting the whole time.
Of course Mobley's solos are excellent, they always are. But the addition of Freddie Hubbard is very much a welcome one. He plays with so much energy and passion it's hard not to love it. His solo on the alternate take of a Baptist Beat is so full of life and love for his instrument and the music, there's a reason he's my favorite trumpeter.
All the songs are excellent and all the solos are wonderful, but if I had to pick favorites, I'd say the best tracks here are the uptempo title track, and the more midtempo track A Baptist Beat (though I do prefer the alternate take by a hair, even if it is a bonus track). Mobley's songwriting, choice of chords, and interesting melodies make him probably my favorite hard bop songwriter. And really with a lineup like this, there's no way the solos could be bad. Everyone is on their A game here.
The only negative I can count against this album is that the drums are mostly hard panned to the right, which is a relic of 60s Rudy Van Gelder production usually. It bugs me a fair bit, but it's not as bad as it is on say, Art Blakey's Free For All where every drum is hard panned to one side. At least here there's a cymbal or two on the left side. Still it's a bit unfortunate, but it's not a huge negative.
Overall, this album is fantastic, and is as good, or maybe even slightly better than Soul Station (largely because I find the title track of Soul Station a bit overlong). If you like hard bop but haven't dug into Mobley yet, listen to this and Soul Station for sure. You won't regret it. 9/10.