The other day I was listening to the “You’ll Hear It Podcast” with Peter Martin and Adam Maness (great podcast! If you’re not hip, check it out) and the episode was on Miles Davis’ “Someday My Prince Will Come.” So of course the topic of Hank Mobley/ John Coltrane is discussed. Now at this point Hank Mobley doesn’t need anyone to defend him. The historical record seems to have come around to recognizing his greatness. But nevertheless, he still seems to come under fire when it comes to this record. Martin and Maness mention Miles’ remarks about Hank from the autobiography which still seem to dog Hank’s reputation.
So I decided to re-listen to all of the records Hank and Trane recorded. They are: Two Tenors (originally issued in 1956 as Informal Jazz by The Elmo Hope Sextet), 1957’s Tenor Conclave with Al Cohn and Zoot Sims added, both on Prestige, and Johnny Griffin’s A Blowin’ Session on Blue Note. All three are fantastic and eventually I will do a deep dive on the tune Tenor Conclave. If you want to hear three absolutely perfect chorus’ of rhythm changes dig Hank’s solo! But I want to explore A Blowin’ Session.
In addition to Griff, Trane, and Hank, A Blowin’ Session features Lee Morgan, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Art Blakey. The original lp features four tunes (cd has alt take of “Smoke Stack”), two standards, two originals.
The album kicks off with “The Way You Look Tonight”. This is the track that seems to gather the most discussion. It is ALL THE WAY UPSTAIRS!!! Griff states the melody and proceeds to steamroll everyone. Lee is up next for two leading us to Hank’s turn, then Trane plays two. OK, so here’s the deal. If you dropped the needle on Hank’s solo you would probably think, ok yeah, pretty decent chorus. Nothing wrong with it. Hank might be just slightly behind the beat but he could play fast. He played in Max Roach’s band for Pete’s sake. Thing is, the way Griff is playing on this nobody can really compete, not even the rhythm section :)
So the rest of the album is where it REALLY starts to get interesting for me. The tempos come down a little to a more humane level. Griff’s “Ball Bearing” is up next. A medium up swinger with a bunch of changes. This one is in everyone’s wheelhouse.
Trane leads off the blowing and I gotta say, no disrespect, but he’s a little in the cracks. I feel like this solo is a little awkward and doesn’t have quite as clean an execution as the rest of the album. Griff’s solo is full of more double time, a little wailing, and all in all a nice spot. Now dig Hank! Immediately Blakey opens up with more interaction than he has throughout the track. Hank is leaving some space, breathing, inviting everyone in. He just eats up these ii-Vs and this tempo is perfect for his patented slick as hell rhythmic s**t. Perfect swinging eighth notes, not beating you over the head, just swinging you into bad health. He steals the show on this track and for my money his highpoint on the album.
The B side open with All The Things You Are.
I forgot how wild this intro was! Dig Art’s hi hat. I also dig the latin feel on the bridge, wish they would have maybe gone to it on the blowing a bit. Griff leads off and what can you say? It’s another solo full of double time and brilliant exciting lines. It’s spectacular. You can’t deny it. Like Brecker, Potter, etc. It’s pretty unbelievable. Trane gives us about an A section before he’s into double time. Slightly odd construction to this solo where he double times almost the whole first chorus then rarely doubles in the second chorus. Hank delivers another classic. Now his solo lacks the fireworks and technical bravado of Griff and Trane but dig the story. His solo hangs together with a great logic, is paced really well, and is in general more cohesive than the others.
Last up, the blues.
Smoke Stack kicks off with a Kelly introduction into a one chorus head before Griff enters in his inimitable funky way. Great solos all around with everybody stretching out. Sounds how you would think it would sound. Fantastic.
Now for why I think Hank Mobley is our underdog hero in this epic tale. This is one of those “man in the arena” type stories. It might be a little hard to relate to these feelings if you aren’t a player but I will try my best. So our man Hank finds himself on this record date with two of the most dynamic virtuosos of the tenor saxophone of all time. As a player, eventually you will find yourself on stage or in this case, the recording studio, with players who can just seem to execute impossibly complex and demanding feats of saxophonic (or whatever instrument) skill and you may find yourself (in David Byrne’s voice) asking “how did I get here?” And the more important question, what do I do? How do I react? How do I contribute to the music? Oftentimes we will find ourselves trying to “keep up with the Joneses.” This may lead you to play something above your ability but usually winds up sounding like a lesser version of the other players. Here is where Hank does the bravest thing you can do. He plays himself. Easier said than done if you’ve been there. Now Mobley was an experienced player working with some of the greatest names in jazz at this point but that goes out the window when you’re staring down the barrel of Johnny Griffin’s machine gun! Once you get past the obvious brilliance and virtuosity of Griffin and Coltrane and listen to Mobley’s solos based on what he is actually saying, not what you just heard, you can hear all of the classic traits (swinging 8th notes, hip rhythmic figures, beautiful melody, breath, tone, etc.) that make him so hip and beloved by those in the know.