Hank Mobley - Dippin' [Blue Note Tone Poet Audiophile Series]

Hank Mobley's tenor saxophone leads a five-piece band through the boogaloo rhythms, Brazilian influence and hard bop of Dippin'. Recorded for Blue Note in the mid-1960s, the album pairs Mobley with trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Harold Mabern Jr., bassist Larry Ridley and drummer Billy Higgins. Their session moves from the brisk opening groove of "The Dip" to the ballad "I See Your Face Before Me," with room for both saxophone and trumpet solos.

"The Dip" begins with a buoyant, funk-influenced rhythm before Mobley and Morgan trade melodic ideas. "Recado Bossa Nova" adapts a Brazilian composition into a jazz quintet setting, giving the session a distinctly different pulse. "The Break Through" returns to a faster bop approach, while "The Vamp" uses a minor-key theme and persistent rhythmic figure. On "I See Your Face Before Me," Mobley turns to a slower ballad interpretation, before the quintet returns to a lively, swinging finish on "Ballin'."

Alfred Lion produced the session at Rudy Van Gelder's New Jersey studio. This Tone Poet Series audiophile reissue was produced by Joe Harley and mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio directly from the original analog master tapes. Pressed on 180g vinyl by Record Technology Inc. (RTI), the stereo LP comes in a deluxe tip-on gatefold jacket reproducing the original cover design.

• Format: Vinyl LP
• Standout tracks: The Dip, Recado Bossa Nova, The Break Through, The Vamp, I See Your Face Before Me
• Pressing details: Blue Note Tone Poet Audiophile Series, 180g Black Vinyl, All-Analog Mastering by Kevin Gray, RTI Pressing, Stereo, Tip-on Gatefold Jacket
• Genre/style: Jazz, Hard Bop, Soul Jazz, Bossa Nova
• UPC: 602465576641

Dippin' remains an important entry in Hank Mobley's Blue Note catalog, reflecting the creativity and musical confidence of his mid-1960s recordings. Its combination of hard bop, blues and Latin influences demonstrates the range of his playing and his ability to bring different musical ideas together within a single session.

* The Spotify track list may not exactly represent the tracks and audio of this LP edition.

Track List:

Side A:

1. The Dip
2. Recado Bossa Nova
3. The Break Through

Side B:

1. The Vamp
2. I See Your Face Before Me
3. Ballin'