Hank Mobley - 'Workout'

 

"It must schwing!" 
—Alfred Lion

'Workout' was recorded on March 26, 1961, at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and released in March 1962 on the Blue Note Records label.  It was produced by Alfred Lion, and recorded by Rudy Van Gelder (who else?).

Instead of going with a traditional hard bop two-horn (or more) setup, Hank used Grant Green's guitar to form the frontline. This allowed Grant Green's stinging, single-note phrasing to weave directly with Hank's saxophone,


This unique combination makes for an extraordinary dynamic that seamlessly blends straight-ahead swing with deep blues. 

For the rhythm section Hank uses pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones, the powerhouse rhythm section from Miles Davis's first great quintet whom are universally noted for driving the record forward with door-rattling intensity.

Hank Mobley's 'Workout' is one of the finest Hard Bop albums in jazz history.

I was gifted 'Workout' for my 15th birthday in 1962, and it's a long time favorite.  It's one of those "soundtrack of my life" albums.

The freeload is a sweet sounding remastered SHM-CD, Japanese reissue from 2014, and is part of the Blue Note 75th Anniversary reissue series.  This reissue also has with two bonus tracks from the 'Workout' session, "Three Coins In The Fountain" (Take 21) and "Three Coins In The Fountain" (Take 19), both of which are sublime.

For the freeload, tell us about albums that are the soundtrack of your life.