Hank Mobley – Workout (LP, Universal)

The critic Leonard Feather once described Hank Mobley, who died in 1986, as the “middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone”. That doesn’t sound particularly flattering at first, but it was just meant to express that Mobley’s phrasing was between two other tenor sax champions: the “heavyweight” John Coltrane and the “lightweight” Stan Getz. On “Workout” in 1961, Mobley presented himself in brilliant top form, seconded by a quintet of young modernists. BLUE NOTE CLASSIC VINYL EDITION: Stereo, completely analogue, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, pressed by Optimal on 180g vinyl, in a single sleeve.