Hank Mobley's 'Curtain Call'. If you have been reading along, my friends, than you know that I have a fondness for Hank Mobley. His tone is so rich and those Blue Note albums sound so good. Hard to believe the recording quality that they were getting back in 1960 at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Blue Note head Alfred Lion had such high standards that he didn't release this album and it wasn't available until the mid-1980s! Perhaps my ears aren't as well-tuned as Mr. Lion's, but this album is a welcome addition to my Mobley collection. Kenny Dorham is on trumpet and the two had played together a great deal and their familiarity and interplay helps make this album.
Perhaps if you are going to build your own Mobley collection you should defer to Mr. Lion (who knows what he is talking about since I have mentioned more than once that Blue Note is the greatest) and start with a different Mobley. I would recommend 'Soul Station' or 'No Room For Squares' (one of my favourite titles ever, and one of my favourite album covers. I love Blue Note!).
It is a mellow evening here on the 20th floor. Babies are sleeping and The Jimmy Giuffre 3's delightful 'The Easy Way' is lulling me to a state of complete contentment.
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