Five Strong Players, One Afternoon
Roll Call catches Mobley at ease, trading solos with a band that matches his directness and swing.
Roll Call is a straightforward blowing session from early in Hank Mobley's recording career. The setup is clean: Mobley on tenor, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Blakey on drums. No gimmicks, no strings, no concept. Just five players in a room making decisions together.
What works here is the chemistry. Hubbard and Mobley are well-matched as frontline voices—Hubbard brings sharpness and velocity while Mobley keeps things grounded and conversational. Kelly provides solid comping without stepping too far into the spotlight, which is exactly what this kind of date needs. Chambers and Blakey form a rhythm section that swings hard enough to push the soloists without ever feeling aggressive. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings gave this one 3.5 stars, and that feels right—it's a solid, enjoyable record with no weak spots and nothing that quite transcends the session-date formula.
The album doesn't mark a turning point in Mobley's work, and it's not the place most listeners would start with him. But if you're already interested in his playing, this is worth hearing. The solos are clean, the tempos are mostly medium-to-up, and the whole thing has the feel of a group that trusted each other enough to just play. That kind of ease is harder to manufacture than it sounds.
Who's playing
Paul Chambersdouble bass
Wynton Kellypiano
Hank Mobleytenor saxophone
Freddie Hubbardtrumpet
Art Blakeydrums
Where next?
More by Hank Mobley
All 41 albums →
The musicians on this record
A Night in Tunisia 1960
Art Blakey
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
Open Sesame (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition) 1960
Freddie Hubbard
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
Kelly Blue 1959
Wynton Kelly
plays piano here
plays piano here
