1963 · Album
Straight No Filter
Recorded 1963–1966 (various sessions) · Blue Note · Released: 1985
A saxophonist's candid snapshots across three years
Straight No Filter catches Mobley in his element — swinging hard, playing it direct, no pretense.
Straight No Filter is a compilation that arrived long after the sessions that made it. The original recordings happened between 1963 and 1966, during a stretch when Mobley was deep into hard bop, playing the kind of tenor that didn't need effects or gimmicks to make itself heard. Blue Note didn't release the album until 1985, which means these performances sat in the vault for more than twenty years before an audience ever heard them. That delay is worth noting because it tells you something about how the jazz industry worked — good music could wait, and often did.
What you get here is Mobley doing what he'd always done well: playing with clarity and swing, no wasted notes, no overreaching. The sessions span a three-year window, so the album has some unevenness in sound and personnel, but that's actually part of its appeal. You're hearing him at work across different settings, different bandmates, different moods. AllMusic reviewer Ronnie D. Lankford Jr. gave it four and a half stars and called it something fans and hard bop listeners shouldn't miss, which is fair — this isn't a masterpiece that changes everything, but it's solid work from a player who understood his instrument and his role in the band.
If you know Mobley's better-known sessions, this one fills in gaps without replacing them. It's not the place to start if you're new to him, but if you've spent time with his other Blue Note recordings and want to hear more, this justifies the hunt. The performances don't reinvent anything, but they show a workmanlike professional doing exactly what he set out to do on any given day in the studio.
Who's playing
Bob Cranshawbass
Paul Chambersbass
Butch Warrenbass
McCoy Tynerpiano
Barry Harrispiano
Herbie Hancockpiano
Hank Mobleytenor saxophone
Lee Morgantrumpet
Freddie Hubbardtrumpet
Donald Byrdtrumpet
Billy Higginsdrums
Philly Joe Jonesdrums
Where next?
More by Hank Mobley
All 41 albums →
The musicians on this record
My Point of View 1963
Herbie Hancock
plays piano here
plays piano here
Nights of Ballads & Blues 1963
McCoy Tyner
plays piano here
plays piano here
Open Sesame (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition) 1960
Freddie Hubbard
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
Cornbread 1965
Lee Morgan
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
