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38-543: Eternal Spirit is an album by American jazz pianist Andrew Hill , recorded in 1989 and released on the Blue Note label. The album features six of Hill's original compositions performed by his quintet with alto saxophonist Greg Osby , vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson , bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Ben Riley . Three alternate takes were added to the CD release as bonus tracks . The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded

76-624: A 1963 interview with A. B. Spellman . Powell was an even greater influence, but Hill thought that his music was a dead end: "If you stay with Bud too much, you'll always sound like him, even if you're doing something he never did." Hill referred to Tatum as the epitome of "all modern piano playing". Source: Compilations With Walt Dickerson With Roland Kirk With Jimmy Woods With Hank Mobley With Joe Henderson With Bobby Hutcherson With Russel Baba With Reggie Workman With Greg Osby Hank Mobley Henry Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986)

114-568: A decade, producing a dozen albums. Hill was born in Chicago , Illinois , to William and Hattie Hill. He had a brother, Robert, who was a singer and classical violin player. Hill took up the piano at the age of thirteen, and was encouraged by Earl Hines . As a child, he attended the University of Chicago Experimental School . He was referred by jazz composer Bill Russo to Paul Hindemith , with whom he studied informally until 1952. While

152-774: A few years later, rejoining the drummer's band (which was called Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, and was no longer a collective) in the spring and summer of 1959. He also hired Blakey to play on two of his Blue Note solo albums recorded in 1960. Mobley recorded steadily during the second half of the 1950s for Blue Note records, a series of albums which featured him with Lee Morgan , Donald Byrd , Art Farmer , Kenny Dorham , Jackie McLean , Pepper Adams , Milt Jackson , Sonny Clark , Bobby Timmons , Herbie Hancock , Wynton Kelly , Paul Chambers , and Philly Joe Jones , among others. Mobley's former Messengers rhythm section of Silver, Watkins, and Blakey backed him on Hank Mobley and His All Stars and Hank Mobley Quintet . In 1958, Mobley

190-416: A leader, and continued to record for Blue Note Records until 1970. Notable records from this period include Soul Station (1960), generally considered to be his finest recording, and Roll Call (1960). Both of these albums featured Blakey on drums, and they were the final recordings Mobley made with the drummer. In a 2020 review of Soul Station , The Recording Academy's Grammy Awards website called

228-497: A particularly productive partnership with trumpeter Lee Morgan , having appeared on each other's albums and Johnny Griffin's A Blowin' Session . Mobley was briefly a member of the Miles Davis band in 1961, during the period when Davis was searching for a tenor saxophone player to permanently replace John Coltrane . Mobley is heard on the album Someday My Prince Will Come (on two tracks, playing alongside Coltrane), and

266-423: A place in the history of jazz music." Mosaic Records released two multidisc compilations of Mobley's Blue Note recordings. The Complete Blue Note Hank Mobley Fifties Sessions was released by the label in 1998, and The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions 1963-70 was released in 2019. GQ noted that seven of Mobley's 12 Blue Note albums recorded in the 1963–70 period were quickly slated for release, with

304-516: A speech at the Blue Note Town Hall concert in 1985. Mobley became addicted to heroin in the late 1950s, and in 1958 was imprisoned. He continued to struggle with his drug addiction during the 1960s. A longtime smoker, Mobley was forced to retire in the mid-1970s, due to lung problems. He also had problems with homelessness in his later years and struggled to stay in touch with his fellow musicians. He worked two engagements at

342-464: A teenager, he performed in rhythm and blues bands and with touring jazz musicians, including Charlie Parker and Miles Davis . Hill recalls some of his experience as a youngster, during a 1964 interview with Leonard Feather : "I started out in music as a boy soprano, singing and playing the accordion , and tap dancing. I had a little act and made quite a few of the talent shows around town from 1943 until 1947. I won turkeys at two Thanksgiving parties at

380-486: A year later with A Caddy for Daddy . Mobley, Lee Morgan, and soul jazz pianist Harold Mabern recorded another mid-60s album, Dippin' , in one day. According to Samuel Chell, No Room for Squares was "the first session on which [Mobley] would begin to sacrifice lyric inspiration and subtlety of phrasing to a harder sound and stiffer rhythmic approach." In 1964, while serving a prison sentence for narcotics possession, Mobley wrote songs that were later recorded for

418-477: Is that [listenability] doesn't put you in the history books," referencing Mobley's style and the lack of attention paid to his work, as compared to John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins . According to fellow saxophonist Gary Bartz , the fact his compositions were not organized with one publishing company made profiting from them difficult. In November 2020, the Van Gelder Studio's first livestream video

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456-470: The Regal Theatre ," parties sponsored by the newspaper Chicago Defender , which Hill coincidentally used to sell on the streets. In 1950, Hill learned his first blues changes on the piano from the saxophonist Pat Patrick and in 1953, he played his first professional job as a musician, with Paul Williams ' band. "At that time", he recalls, "I was playing baritone sax as well as piano." During

494-489: The University of Michigan , the University of Toronto , Harvard University , Bennington College and other schools. Hill's album Dusk was selected best album of 2001 by both DownBeat and JazzTimes ; and in 2003, Hill received the Jazzpar Prize . Hill's earlier work also received renewed attention as a result of the belated release of several unissued sessions recorded in the 1960s for Blue Note, notably

532-606: The Angry Squire in New York City – November 22 and 23, 1985, and January 11, 1986 – in a quartet with Duke Jordan and guest singer Lodi Carr, a few months before his death. He died of pneumonia in 1986, aged 55, having also suffered from lung cancer. Jazz radio host Bob Perkins described Mobley's style as "round, throaty, and distinctive", noting that despite "lukewarm appraisals of his artistry by critics, Hank Mobley overcame some major stumbling blocks to acquire

570-763: The Cafe Bohemia , and he appeared on the Columbia Records studio album The Jazz Messengers . Mobley used the Jazz Messengers' rhythm section as his backing band for his 1955 Blue Note Records debut, Hank Mobley Quartet . When the Silver/Watkins/Blakey version of The Jazz Messengers split up in 1956, Mobley continued working with Silver for a short time, appearing on Silver's Blue , 6 Pieces of Silver , and The Stylings of Silver . Mobley worked for brief periods with Blakey

608-542: The World and the studio album first released in 2020 as Just Coolin' . During this same period, Mobley and Blakey appeared together on a Sonny Clark recording session that was first released in 1979 as My Conception . Mobley was with the Jazz Messengers during the Newport Jazz Festival that summer, but soon after left the band and was replaced by Wayne Shorter . During the 1960s, he worked chiefly as

646-455: The album A Slice of the Top . The album was recorded in 1966 but was not released until 1979. The popularity of Mobley's albums decreased during the mid-1960s, though he continued to record regularly this period. Three critically acclaimed albums recorded during the mid- to late-60s include A Caddy for Daddy , Hi Voltage , and The Flip . Apart from his album Reach Out! , also recorded in

684-432: The album 4½ stars and stated "There are no weak performances on this superb post bop effort, Andrew Hill's strongest recording in several years". Andrew Hill (jazz musician) Jazz critic John Fordham described Hill as a "uniquely gifted composer, pianist and educator" although "his status remained largely inside knowledge in the jazz world for most of his career." Hill recorded for Blue Note Records for nearly

722-639: The album Mobley's "most rewarding listen despite not breaking the mold." Grammy has also referred to the album as "effortlessly elegant." The Guardian gave Mobley's four "classic" albums ( Peckin’ Time , Soul Station , Roll Call and Workout ) five stars noting that "[f]or once, the word 'classic' is justified." The article referred to his "infinite subtlety" and ability as "an ingenious composer" as justification for this rating. During this period of his career, he performed with bop and hard bop musicians including Grant Green , Freddie Hubbard , Sonny Clark , Wynton Kelly and Philly Joe Jones , and formed

760-560: The ambitious large-group date Passing Ships . In 2004, he appeared on SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions . As a consequence of his renewed prominence, a new Blue Note album titled Time Lines was released on February 21, 2006. His final public performance was on March 29, 2007, at Trinity Church in New York City. It was while working at the Lighthouse Café, in Hermosa Beach that he met his future wife, Laverne Gillette, at

798-482: The earliest hard bop sessions, alongside pianist Horace Silver , bassist Doug Watkins and trumpeter Kenny Dorham . The results of these sessions were released as Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers . At this point, the band was a collective, sometimes appearing and recording under the names of either Silver or Blakey. Mobley was also in The Jazz Messengers for the recording of the live album At

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836-460: The end of his career, he began a musical collaboration with Muhal Richard Abrams , although the two never recorded together. Following Mobley's semi-retirement, pianist Tete Montoliu and Mobley recorded one track together on the 1980 album I Wanna Talk About You , the jazz standard " Autumn Leaves ". In 1979, in an interview with John Litweiler, Mobley noted: "It's hard for me to think of what could be and what should have been." Mobley gave

874-607: The first time with such musicians as Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach . Roach introduced Mobley to the New York jazz scene in 1951, and over the next two years the latter began composing and recording tunes of his own. He played with multiple R&B bands during this period, and played for two weeks in 1953 with the Duke Ellington Orchestra when saxophonist Jimmy Hamilton was recovering from dental work. When Charlie Parker heard Mobley's playing, he advised

912-538: The five pieces on Bobby Hutcherson's Dialogue album. Hill rarely worked as a sideman after the 1960s, preferring to play his own compositions. This may have limited his public exposure. He later taught in California and held a tenure-track faculty appointment at Portland State University from 1989 to 1996. While at PSU, he established a Summer Jazz Intensive program, in addition to performing, conducting workshops and attending residencies at Wesleyan University ,

950-478: The house for several months. In response, his grandmother bought him a saxophone to help him occupy his time. He tried to enter a music school in Newark but wasn’t accepted since he wasn’t a resident, so he taught himself theory and harmony from books that his grandmother bought for him, while also teaching himself to play the tenor saxophone. At 19, he started to play with local bands and, months later, worked for

988-649: The jazz club Lighthouse Café , in Hermosa Beach . Hill first recorded as a sideman in 1954, but his reputation was made by his Blue Note recordings as leader from 1963 to 1970, which featured several other important post-bop musicians including Joe Chambers , Richard Davis , Eric Dolphy , Bobby Hutcherson , Joe Henderson , Freddie Hubbard , Elvin Jones , Woody Shaw , Tony Williams , and John Gilmore . Hill also played on albums by Henderson, Hutcherson, and Hank Mobley . His compositions accounted for three of

1026-511: The last years of his life. He died at his home in Jersey City, New Jersey. In May 2007, he became the first person to receive a posthumous honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music . Hill's main influences were pianists Thelonious Monk , Bud Powell and Art Tatum . "Monk's like Ravel and Debussy to me, in that he put a lot of personality into his playing [...] it's the personality of music which makes it, finally," he said in

1064-444: The late 1950s. The delay of the latter album's release was later called "incomprehensible" by producer Michael Cuscuna and "astonishing" according to Bob Blumenthal. The personnel on Workout included guitarist Grant Green , Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones, while Another Workout featured the same personnel, excluding Green. Mobley rehearsed extensively before his 1960s Blue Note recordings, typically twice during

1102-431: The late 60s, Mobley avoided progressive jazz and the electric sound popular with jazz musicians during this period. One of Mobley's final albums, titled Breakthrough! , was recorded in 1972 with baritone saxophonist Charles Davis , pianist Cedar Walton , bassist Sam Jones , and drummer Billy Higgins . Scott Yanow noted that Mobley's career was about to "eclipse" following this record date. In 1973, shortly before

1140-590: The live recordings In Person: Live at the Blackhawk and At Carnegie Hall . JazzTimes noted that around the time he played with Davis, Mobley "retooled his sound" from a lighter to a harder-edged tone. In 1961, Mobley recorded two of his own albums, Workout and Another Workout , although Another Workout was not released until 1985. Both featured a rhythm section of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones, all of whom were in Davis's bands during

1178-514: The most underrated musicians of the bop era." Mobley's compositions include "Double Exposure", "Soul Station", and "Dig Dis". Mobley was born in Eastman, Georgia , but was raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey , near Newark . He described himself as coming from a musical family and spoke of his uncle playing in a jazz band. As a child, Mobley played piano. When he was 16, an illness kept him in

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1216-439: The next few years, the piano gigs brought him into contact with many musicians, some of whom became relevant influences: Joe Segal and Barry Harris , among others. In 1961, after travelling as an accompanist for Dinah Washington , the young pianist settled in New York City in 1961, where he worked for Johnny Hartman and Al Hibbler , then briefly moved to Los Angeles County , where he worked with Roland Kirk 's quartet and at

1254-472: The others "chopped up and mixed and matched—which denied Mobley his proper place in the music of the time and left him deeply frustrated." Mobley himself was dismayed by the record label's tendency to pressure him into studio sessions, only to decide not to release the recorded music. For instance, Mobley's album Poppin ' was recorded in 1957 and released 23 years later. The Spectator lamented that "an unfortunate side effect of 20th century Modernism

1292-634: The time an organist at the Red Carpet. They married in 1963 and moved to New York. Laverne died following a long illness in California , where the couple had settled, in 1989. He married dancer/educator Joanne Robinson Hill in Portland in 1992. They moved to New York City in 1995. From 2000, Hill and his wife lived in Jersey City, New Jersey . Andrew Hill suffered from lung cancer during

1330-437: The week preceding a Saturday studio session, with Blue Note paying for the rehearsals and recordings. Alfred Lion, co-producer of the label, would frequently direct the band's tempo or critique studio takes until he was pleased with them. Mobley recorded No Room for Squares in 1964, featuring trumpeters Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan, with DownBeat remarking that on the album Mobley "conveyed quiet authority", and followed

1368-419: The young musician to take more influence from blues music. In April 1953, he was hired by Max Roach to play on the album released as The Max Roach Quartet featuring Hank Mobley . He later appeared on two Roach sessions recorded in 1957 and 1958 for EmArcy records. Shortly after working with Roach, he began working regularly with another drummer and bandleader, Art Blakey . He and Blakey took part in one of

1406-459: Was a sideman on Max Roach's album The Max Roach 4 Plays Charlie Parker , playing on three tracks. Dorham, saxophone player George Coleman , and bassists George Morrow and Nelson Boyd also recorded on the album, which consisted entirely of Parker compositions. In March 1959, Mobley rejoined the Jazz Messengers. With this edition of The Jazz Messengers, he recorded At the Jazz Corner of

1444-443: Was an American 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 such as Coltrane and Sonny Rollins . The critic Stacia Proefrock claimed him "one of

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