This LP, although appearing to be "complete," actually reissues half of the earlier LP The Jazz Message of Hank Mobley, which has since come out complete on CD, plus two other slightly later sessions. In any case, the fairly young all-stars (
Mobley on tenor, either Donald Byrd or
Lee Morgan on trumpets,
Ronnie Ball,
Barry Harris or
Hank Jones on piano, bassist
Doug Watkins, and either Kenny Clarke or
Art Taylor on drums) play as well as one would expect. Elevating this music above the level of a typical jam session is that five of the compositions are
Mobley's and, although none became a standard, the challenging originals generally inspired the players. Until the later two sessions are reissued on CD, this LP, which came out in 1979, is worth searching for. ~ Scott Yanow