1966 · Album
A Slice of the Top
Recorded Early 1966 · Blue Note · Arrangements: Duke Pearson
A Late Bloomer Thirteen Years in the Making
When it finally arrived in 1979, critics recognized what had been waiting in the vaults all along.
A Slice of the Top arrived late to the party, recorded in early 1966 but shelved until 1979—a thirteen-year gap that says something about how jazz records moved through the industry back then. When it finally appeared on Blue Note, it wasn't a sensation; it was a discovery for people already paying attention to Mobley. AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow heard it as a natural fit with the adventurous players involved, singling out how Mobley evolved through the 1960s and belonged squarely in this company.
The ensemble itself was unusual for a Mobley session: Lee Morgan on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, and the unconventional pairing of Kiane Zawadi on euphonium and Howard Johnson on tuba alongside the standard rhythm section. Those horns—euphonium and tuba instead of the expected reeds—added genuine texture without sounding gimmicky. Duke Pearson wrote the arrangements, which kept everything coherent across what could have been an awkward lineup.
This is a solid mid-period Mobley record, worth hearing if you already admire his work from that era, though it's not the place to start. It sits comfortably among his Blue Note output rather than standing apart from it. The delayed release meant it never built momentum when it mattered commercially, and it remains the kind of album serious collectors find and appreciate rather than a record that shaped what came after.
Who's playing
Bob Cranshawbass
McCoy Tynerpiano
Hank Mobleytenor saxophone
James Spauldingalto saxophone, flute
Lee Morgantrumpet
Billy Higginsdrums
Howard Johnsontuba
Kiane Zawadieuphonium
Where next?
More by Hank Mobley
All 41 albums →
The musicians on this record
The Real McCoy 1967
McCoy Tyner
plays piano here
plays piano here
Cornbread 1965
Lee Morgan
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
♫
The Oracle 1989
Billy Higgins
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
