Workout [Bonus Track]

Performer: Hank Mobley
Artist: Grant Green; Wynton Kelly; Paul Chambers; Philly Joe Jones
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Hank Mobley (tenor saxophone); Wynton Kelly (piano); Grant Green (guitar); Paul Chambers (bass); Philly Joe Jones (drums). Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna. Recorded on March 26, 1961. Includes liner notes by Leonard Feather and Michael Cuscuna. Personnel: Hank Mobley (tenor saxophone); Hank Mobley; Paul Chambers (upright bass); Grant Green (guitar); Wynton Kelly (piano); Philly Joe Jones (drums). Audio Remasterer: Rudy Van Gelder. Liner Note Author: Bob Blumenthal. Recording information: Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (03/26/1961). WORKOUT teams tenorman Hank Mobley with guitarist Grant Green for a rousing session that befits the title. Also in attendance are rhythm section aces Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones, who provide swinging support. Muscular tunes like the title track and the aptly titled "Smokin'" are the focus here as the two expertly blow and wail through the changes like frenzied boxers in a title bout. Also included are Mobley's catchy blues number "Uh Huh" and masterful takes on the standards "The Best Things in Life Are Free" and "Three Coins in the Fountain." In all, it is easy to hear why WORKOUT is one of Mobley's quintessential recordings. This is one of the best-known Hank Mobley recordings, and for good reason. Although none of his four originals ("Workout," "Uh Huh," "Smokin'," "Greasin' Easy") caught on, the fine saxophonist is in top form. He jams on the four tunes, plus "The Best Things in Life Are Free," with an all-star quintet of young modernists -- guitarist Grant Green, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones -- and shows that he was a much stronger player than his then-current boss Miles Davis seemed to think. This recommended CD reissue adds a version of "Three Coins in the Fountain" from the same date, originally released on Another Workout, to the original LP program. ~ Scott Yanow

Mojo (Publisher) (p.120) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Mobley's soulful lyricism and fluid melodic invention seduce the ear."

A beguilingly gifted tenor player in the hard bop vein, Hank Mobley was underrated and underappreciated for most of his career. Though he was an original member of the Jazz Messengers and had a brief stint with the Miles Davis Quintet in '61, the majority of Mobley's outstanding quartet and quintet dates for Blue Note, full of his rhythmic subtlety and highly lyrical solos, were not released until after his death in 1986.

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