Excellent early hardbop material from
Mobley – in a style that's similar to his early Blue Note work, but with a bit less polish. Not that that's a bad thing, though – as the long tracks create some strong interplay between the groups, and the rough edges bring out some good sides of the players' tones that you don't get in slicker sessions from the time. The groups include Barry Harris, Donald Byrd, Doug Watkins, and Kenny Clarke – and the CD features material from the full sessions that yielded the Jazz Message album on Savoy, with titles that include "Space Flight", "Cattin", "Madeline", "B For BB", and "Blues Number Two". Added to those tracks is a full bonus LP – recorded in 1953, under the title Max Roach Quintet With
Hank Mobley. Despite the early date and boppish orientation of the material on, the tracks have a sinister modernist edge that easily belies the later work of both Roach and
Hank Mobley. The set kicks off with the incredible stormer "Cou Manchi Cou", then slides into a crackling batch of cuts that include "
Mobleyzation", "Chi Chi", "Sfax", and "Orientation". There's lots of amazing drum work, and some incredible arrangements that show a very far-reaching sensibility on Roach's part.
(Out of print.)