Customer Reviews

No Room for Squares

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like it says in the official review, most of this is album is Mobley, Morgan, Hill, Ore and Philly Joe, while 2 tracks are Mobley, Byrd, Hancock, Warren and Philly Joe.

Whether or not I think of this album as highly as Soul Station comes down to nothing more than the mood I am in at the time. If I want All Mobley All the Time, then Soul Station is the big winner. If I'm in the mood for having the ball passed around to more players, this is the one. This may very well be my favorite playing I've ever heard by Lee Morgan.

If you can listen to this album and sit still, you're a better (or maybe just unfortunate) person than I. Albums like this almost break your heart, when taken within the historical context of jazz. How is it that a tenor player can play like this and not be a household name... even within some corners of the jazz community?? You'd have a hard time convincing me that Mobley wasn't the singlemost underrated, and historically undervalued tenor player of the entire "classic jazz" era.

The man was a musical giant, and on this album he put together yet another classic Blue Note. A straight-ahead, power-grooving bop masterpiece. This one is essential.

Art Blakey, Max Roach, and Miles Davis were all known for working with up-and-comers and setting them to flight when they felt the player could get nothing more from hangin' around...and Mobley flew. "No Room For Squares" is one of the many jazz albums that is not just a classic because of its many players (Lee Morgan/Donald Byrd on trumpet; Andrew Hill/Herbie Hancock on piano, and Philly Joe Jones on the drums) but because of the quality and depth of this music. This album isn't "fun" like some jazz recordings, it's serious and seriously cool (which can be laughable traits unless you've got the goods). This is the kind of album that sets a connoisseurs collection apart from the average collection of "classic" jazz. In the revised liner notes, Bob Blumenthal quips that this album could've been called "No Room For Improvement". I can only bow to his superior review and humbly concur.

"No Room For Squares" is my favorite Hank Mobley album. That's saying a lot considering "Soul Station" and the scandalously deleted "Roll Call" are easily two of Blue Note's top 100 albums of all time. This album features two sessions from 1963 -- one featuring Lee Morgan, Andrew Hill, John Ore (on bass), and Philly Joe Jones, and the other featuring Donald Byrd, Herbie Hancock, Butch Warren and Philly Joe. This CD is different from the original CD issue -- the original CD gathered all the music that was recorded on 10/2/63, while the RVG version mirrors the original vinyl release and adds two alternate takes as bonuses. "No Room For Squares" opens with Philly Joe's furious hi-hat and cymbal work on the hard-swinging "Three Way Spilt." "Carolyn," a sensual ballad, is next followed by "Up A Step," one of two tracks originally issued on CD on "Straight, No Filter." The up and down melody of the title track is next, followed by Lee Morgan's "Me 'N You," which has a Sidewinder-like feel, although at a slightly faster clip, and this tune could have easily been used for that famous car commercial instead. "Old World, New Imports," the other "Straight, No Filter" track and the two alternate takes conclude the RVG version of this album. While I prefer the original CD sequencing, the inclusion of material from "Straight, No Filter" is very significant, particularly since I have seen that original CD sell at auction for more than $100! Blue Note plans to re-release "The Turnaround" on CD in October, and hopefully "Straight, No Filter" will follow. For now I'm holding on to my old CD too, but as soon as all this material is available there will be no reason to own both. In all, the music is classic regardless of the different sequencing. Don't be a square, get "No Room For Squares."

...Well, I haven't listened to enough jazz yet to say that, BUT ... my discovery last year of Hank Mobley (via the excellent book by Jonny King, "What Jazz Is," highly recommended) was a real serendipity; I worked my way up to this CD via "Soul Station," which I've now worn a hole in (if you can do that on a CD). Everything said here about the excellence of "Squares" is true -- but don't get the idea that this is not a fun listening experience! The Latin-blues rhythm on "Me N'You," for example, is pure joy, and listening to what Philly Joe Jones can do with that beat is truly invigorating. You can hear the progression from "Soul Station" as Mobley gets more inventive and out there, but he never loses that buttery sound; Mobley seems to bring out the best in the trumpets of Byrd and Morgan, and vice versa. This is a real keeper, and will make you want more Mobley in your CD rack.

This is a great disc that features all of the musicians who are in top form. Hank Mobley was one of the great jazz saxophonists, but I have been an advocate of his great writing, his tunes are some of the best of the blue note era, which is a bold statement considering his company. It is a pleasure hearing the musicians perform, Lee Morgan shows what he can do in a modal setting, and Philly Joe Jones lites the studio on fire with his pulsating timekeeping. A gem.

At times I'm blown away by the likes of Coltrane, and Rollins, but as much as I like and admire those tenor giants nobody pulls me into their playing like Hank Mobley. "No Room for Squares" is classic blue note all the way. With the complimentary tandem of Lee Morgan and Hank Mobley (was there ever a tenor sax/ trumpet combination that fit as naturally as these two?), the always interesting work of Andrew Hill, the cool fire of Philly Joe Jones, and not to mention the hippest of all the hip-smokey-high-contrast-bohemian-tinted blue note album covers. Here we have a mature Mobley by turns stretching out and staying within the song, keeping the mood and the blue-funk fire forever burning slow. It would be impossible for me to pick one Mobley album as being the best (Soul Station, Roll Call, Work out, Dippin', Quartet, Caddy for Daddy, and the self titled album are all right up there in that rarified stratusphere), but this album captures the cool-toned essence of his playing as well as any of them. It's all there: the aforementioned warm tone, the intriguing interplay, the group unity that always seems to play to the group's strenghts, that always seems to keep things snare drum tight while at the same time exhibiting the relaxed telepathy of players who know how to communicate with each other and the song. You have to look hard to find bad Mobley on blue note (like two tracks on "reach out") but like Caesar's wife this album is above reproach. Give Mobley a chance and he'll change the way you hear the tenor. As for people who bemoan his underratedness and tragic fate I say that the man got to live his life doing what he wanted to do, and he left a legacy that will always live as long as people have the ears to hear it.

I'm only writing to add to the previous reviewers' fine comments a little focus on one tune, "Carolyn," written by Lee Morgan, a dreamy ballad featuring solos and duets by Morgan and Mobley, is one of the prettiest pieces of music I've heard in the be-bop genre. She must have been one fine lady! Overall, this remastering is stellar, everything so clear and warm, and the soundspace occupied by drummer Philly Jo Jones especially pleasing. There were many fine nights in R Van G's NJ crib, and this captures two of the most stirring.

How Hank Mobley remains somewhat incognito is a mystery to me. Sure, there were tenors who were more out there and influential, but terms of pure talent and tone, Mobley remains my favorite, maybe because he is more accessible to those of us who are still developing their jazz ear. I purchased this at the same time as Soul Station, but have waited several months to review it as my jazz collection and knowledge has grown. This is an incredible album, one I play at least a couple of times a week, if only to hear the brilliant ascending riff on "Up a Step". Hank has not one, but two solid crews along for the ride, both anchored by Philly Joe Jones, who sounds incredible throughout. My favorite piece is the aforementioned "Up a Step", with the eloquent Herbie Hancock on piano and the excellent Donald Byrd handling the trumpet duties. This song gets in your blood and refuses to leave. Along with Butch Warren on bass, this group also plays on "Old World, New Imports". With Lee Morgan, Andrew Hill, and John Ore, Hank burns through "Three Way Spilt" the fantastically funky number that opens the set. "No Room for Squares" boasts the same lineup and is a great hard-bop number. Lee Morgan's ballad "Carolyn" is rendered with aplomb, as is his one hard bop number, "Me N' You". More than any other performer, Hank Mobley has opened my eyes to the world of jazz. How anyone could ever dismiss his tone as 'thin' is beyond me. Here he sounds full and fine, full of fire. I look forward to collecting more of his releases. I'm sure they won't disappoint.

No improviser in my experience wears as well as Hank Mobley. Much as I love Stitt, the licks soon become overly familiar. And despite my reverence for Coltrane's genius or the Titanic power of a Dexter Gordon or Sonny Rollins, any of them can be a "heavy load" when played on a constant basis. But Mobley's unforced sound, so conversational, natural yet expressive, and his inexhaustible melodic vocabulary--thanks to his ability to react in the moment, availing himself of each serendiptious opportunity--make him a welcome companion for practically any occasion, and on a quotidian basis.

I indiscriminately purchase anything by or with Mobley recorded between 1954 and 1962, no reservations needed. However, beginning with "No Room for Squares" and the sessions from 1963 onwards, a listener is best advised to exercise some caution. Mobley was being pressured--by Blue Note Records (Jimmy Smith and Stanley Turrentine were paying the bills for the studio) and by the trends of the sixties (whether Trane modal harmonics or heavy-duty funk)--to "modernize" his music (i.e. more modal tunes, more ad nauseum riff tunes on the order of "Sidewinder," deeper and more physical grooves) and as a result can be heard forcing his sound, simplifying his compositions, and gradually and very sadly self-destructing throughout the late '60's and into the '70's.

Such transformations are just beginning to become noticeable with "No Room for Squares" which, happily, is still prime-time Mobley despite the more aggressive edge to his sound and a few attempts to disguise the overly familiar with "hopefully hip" melodic-harmonic choices. Listen to him handle the "I Got Rhythm Changes" for a full seven inspired choruses on the opening "Three-Way Split," showcased in the best possible light by Philly Joe's elegant hipness, and giving a harmonic "clinic" to Lee Morgan, who provides a spirited follow-up to Mobley's stellar inventions under the circumstances (slightly ragged and repetitious compared to Hank but rescuing his solo with an extemporaneous-sounding quote from "And the Angels Sing."

With the opening "Rhythm" tune, plus an exquisite ballad, an infectious blues, and a driving modal melody on the title number, "No Room for Squares" is an album which, despite the somewhat exclusive and limiting, elitist-sounding title, deserves and is likely to satisfy the widest (discerning) audience possible.

Hank Mobley's tenor sound is rich. He has an economical style with no unnecessary tones and ornamentation. There are no harsh split tones and few top tones (very high notes). It is great to revisit music from another era. I call this style "straight ahead" Jazz meaning it is not hard bop. Five Stars!