Soul Station is an album by American jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on February 7, 1960, and released on Blue Note later that year. Mobley's quartet features rhythm section Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Art Blakey.
Background
Recording Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio and rooted in the hard bop style, Mobley's quartet features Art Blakey (his past bandleader in the Jazz Messengers), and Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers, who Mobley would join in the Miles Davis Quintet by year's end.
Composition The album's bookends are two standards, "Remember" by Irving Berlin and "If I Should Lose You" by Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin. Between these standards are four new Mobley compositions, featuring the bluesy title track and the uptempo "This I Dig of You".
Liner notes In the liner notes to the Rudy Van Gelder CD edition, jazz critic Bob Blumenthal explains how the album is understood to be, for Mobley, what Saxophone Colossus or Giant Steps were for Sonny Rollins or John Coltrane respectively. Blumenthal goes on to describe the recording as "one of the finest programs of music on Blue Note or any other label."Blumenthal, Bob. Soul Station. 1999, Blue Note Records 7243 4 95343 2 2, liner notes.
Reception
AllMusic reviewer Stacia Proefrock concluded: "Overall, this is a stellar set from one of the more underrated musicians of the bop era."
Pete Welding of DownBeat praised the album, calling it "a well-balanced and tasty blowing session that benefits from thoughtful preparation, [and which] finds the tenor saxophonist fronting a quartet composed of three of the finest rhythm men in the business."
Track listing All compositions by Hank Mobley, except where noted.
Personnel
Musicians
Hank Mobley – tenor saxophone Wynton Kelly – piano Paul Chambers – bass Art Blakey – drums
Technical personnel Alfred Lion – producer Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer, mastering Reid Miles – cover design Francis Wolff – photography Joe Goldberg – liner notes
Charts + Chart performance for Soul Station Chart (2021) Peakposition Swedish Vinyl Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 5
References
External links "Hank Mobley's Soul Station at 60: How the Tenor Saxophonist's Mellow Masterpiece Inspires Jazz Musicians in 2020" at the Grammy Awards