Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including tenor saxophone, guitar, and organ. Its origins were in the 1950s and early 1960s, with its heyday with popular audiences preceding the rise of jazz fusion in the late 1960s and 1970s. Prominent names in fusion ranged from bop pianists including Bobby Timmons and Junior Mance to a wide range of organists, saxophonists, and guitarists including Jack McDuff, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, and Grant Green.
Henry "Hank" Mobley was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone, that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Lester Young, and his style that was laid-back, subtle and melodic, especially in contrast with players like Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. The critic Stacia Proefrock claimed him "one of the most underrated musicians of the bop era." Mobley's compositions included "Double Exposure," "Soul Station", and "Dig Dis," among others.
Eli "Lucky" Thompson was an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist whose playing combined elements of swing and bebop. Although John Coltrane usually receives the most credit for bringing the soprano saxophone out of obsolescence in the early 1960s, Thompson embraced the instrument earlier than Coltrane.
Walter Bishop Jr. was an American jazz pianist.
Walter Davis Jr. was an American bebop and hard bop pianist.
Douglas Watkins was an American jazz double bassist. He was best known for being an accompanist to various hard bop artists in the Detroit area, including Donald Byrd and Jackie McLean.
John Arnold Griffin III was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of his death. A pioneering figure in hard bop, Griffin recorded prolifically as a bandleader in addition to stints with pianist Thelonious Monk, drummer Art Blakey, in partnership with fellow tenor Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and as a member of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band after he moved to Europe in the 1960s. In 1995, Griffin was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.
Alphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece is a Jamaican-born hard bop jazz trumpeter. Reece is among a group of jazz musicians born in Jamaica which includes Bertie King, Joe Harriott, Roland Alphonso, Wilton Gaynair, Sonny Bradshaw, saxophonists Winston Whyte and Tommy McCook, trombonist Don Drummond, pianists Wynton Kelly, Monty Alexander, bassist Coleridge Goode, guitarist Ernest Ranglin and percussionists Count Ossie and Lloyd Knibb.
Ernest Andrew Royal was a jazz trumpeter. His older brother was clarinetist and alto saxophonist Marshal Royal, with whom he appears on the classic Ray Charles big band recording The Genius of Ray Charles (1959).
Dippin' is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Blue Note label in 1966. It is the second of nine Blue Note sessions to feature Mobley alongside Lee Morgan during the trumpeter's second stint with the label. It is also the second of nine consecutive Hank Mobley recording sessions to feature Billy Higgins.
Charles Lawrence Persip, known as Charli Persip and formerly as Charlie Persip, was an American jazz drummer.
This is the discography for American jazz musician Hank Mobley.
No Room for Squares is an album by jazz tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on March 7 & October 2, 1963 and released on the Blue Note label. It features performances by Mobley, trumpeters Lee Morgan and Donald Byrd, pianists Andrew Hill and Herbie Hancock, bassists John Ore and Butch Warren, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Material recorded at the March 7 session was also included on The Turnaround! with the entire session collected for the first time on the 1989 CD edition of Straight No Filter. The 1989 CD issue of No Room for Squares collects the entire October 7 session save an alternate take of "Carolyn" that was first issued in 2019 as part of The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions 1963-70.
Hi Voltage is an album by jazz tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on October 9, 1967 and released on the Blue Note label the following year. It features performances by Mobley with alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, trumpeter Blue Mitchell, pianist John Hicks, drummer Billy Higgins, and bassist Bob Cranshaw.
Reach Out! is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded and released by the Blue Note label in 1968. It features performances by Mobley with trumpeter Woody Shaw, guitarist George Benson, pianist LaMont Johnson, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Billy Higgins.
Thinking of Home is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on July 31, 1970 but not released by the Blue Note label until 1980. It features performances by Mobley with trumpeter Woody Shaw, pianist Cedar Walton, guitarist Eddie Diehl, bassist Mickey Bass, and drummer Leroy Williams. This was Mobley's 26th recording for Blue Note.
Poem for Malcolm is a jazz album by Archie Shepp. Recorded in Paris in August 1969 only two days after Yasmina, a Black Woman, it again features musicians from the Art Ensemble of Chicago. This time, the tone is resolutely set to avant garde and free jazz, with a political edge in the all but explicit tribute to Malcolm X. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states: "This LP from the English Affinity LP is a mixed bag. Best is 'Rain Forrest' on which tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, in a collaboration with trombonist Grachan Moncur III, pianist Vince Benedetti, bassist Malachi Favors, and drummer Philly Joe Jones, perform some stirring free jazz; the interplay between Shepp and Jones is particularly exciting. On a four-and-a-half minute 'Oleo,' Shepp "battles" some bebop with fellow tenor Hank Mobley, but the other two tracks, a workout for the leader's erratic soprano on 'Mamarose,' and his emotional recitation on 'Poem for Malcolm,' are much less interesting, making this a less than essential release despite 'Rain Forrest'." It was originally issued on CD by Affinity mastered from a vinyl source and later reissued by Charly from the original master tapes.
Star Bright is an album by Jamaican-born jazz trumpeter Dizzy Reece, featuring performances recorded in 1959 shortly after his move to New York City and released on the Blue Note label. So far, it has been released on CD only in Japan.
At the Jazz Corner of the World is a critically-acclaimed two-volume live album by American jazz drummer Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, released in 1959 on the Blue Note label. The album was originally issued on 12-inch LPs in two volumes and later re-released as a two-CD double album.
William Root was an American jazz tenor and baritone saxophonist.
