1965 · Album
The Turnaround!
Recorded March 7, 1963 and February 4, 1965 · Blue Note Records · Produced by Alfred Lion
Two Sessions, One Hank Mobley
Mobley pulls off something tricky here — two different bands, two different years, one coherent album.
Here is an unusual situation: The Turnaround! (1965) is actually two separate recording dates stitched together, nearly two years apart. The first session from March 1963 brings in Donald Byrd on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano, Butch Warren on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The second, from February 1965, swaps in Freddie Hubbard, Barry Harris, Paul Chambers, and Billy Higgins. That is a lot of personnel movement, and yet the album holds together reasonably well, mostly because Hank Mobley is a constant — steady, warm, never flashy, always musical.
Mobley gets criticized sometimes for being too relaxed, too middle-of-the-road for hard bop. That criticism is not entirely wrong, but it misses what he is actually good at. His tone is thick and approachable, and he phrases with a kind of unhurried confidence that suits these kinds of blowing sessions. The title track is a good entry point — Mobley navigates the changes cleanly while Hubbard pushes things a little harder around him. That contrast works. Harris on piano in the 1965 tracks is a nice fit too, more bebop-grounded than Hancock, which suits the material.
The 1963 tracks with Hancock are interesting for different reasons — Hancock was still finding his voice at that point, and hearing him in this more straightforwardly hard bop context is a little different from what he would become. Jones on drums gives those tracks a particular snap. This is not Mobley's best album — most people would point you toward Soul Station (1960) for that — but it is a solid, enjoyable record that gives you a fair picture of what he did well.
Who's playing
Paul Chambersdouble bass
Butch Warrendouble bass
Barry Harrispiano
Herbie Hancockpiano
Hank Mobleytenor saxophone
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
Breaking Point 1964
Freddie Hubbard
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
A New Perspective 1963
Donald Byrd
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
♫
The Two Sides of Jack Wilson 1964
Philly Joe Jones
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
