Hank Mobley’s ‘Hank’ Receives Tone Poet Series Reissue
The vinyl release of the jazz saxophonist and composer’s album will be available on January 9.
Hank Mobley’s Hank is the latest classic jazz album to join Blue Note’s Tone Poet Series. The album was released in 1957, just two years into the jazz tenor saxophonist’s 15-year association with the Blue Note label.
Hank recorded the album with a gang of notable musicians: Donald Byrd on trumpet, John Jenkins on alto sax, Bobby Timmons on piano, Wilbur Ware on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. It features jazz standards like “Time After Time” and “You’d Be So Easy to Love” (originally written for the 1934 Broadway show Anything Goes, which was cut from the musical and rewritten for the 1936 film Born to Dance).
Born in Eastman, Georgia, and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Mobley quickly established himself in the industry at age 19 by playing for local bands. His career kicked off in 1951 when he was introduced to the New York City jazz scene, playing in bands like the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Mobley recorded as part of a collective for Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers before making his Blue Note Records debut with 1955’s Hank Mobley Quartet album. The musician continued releasing albums with Blue Note until 1970. He later retired, dying in 1986 at age 55.
The mono vinyl reissue of Hank was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc., and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket. The new version is set to be released in January 2026.
The Blue Note Tone Poet Series was launched in 2019 by producer “Tone Poet” Joe Harley. Mobley’s discography has been featured in the series multiple times, with highlights including 1959’s My Conception, 1962’s Workout, 1965’s A Caddy for Daddy, 1979’s A Slice of the Top, and 1984’s Curtain Call.
He joins the ranks of many notable artists in the series, including Frank Sinatra, Ike Quebec, Donald Byrd, Stanley Turrentine, Chet Baker, Duke Ellington, Bobby Hutcherson, Dexter Gordon, and Baby Face Willette.
