It had always been our ambition to move into the realms of jazz, with our own personal deep rooted passion for the original mono jazz LPs produced in the 1950’s & 1960’s. It was an honour to be able to work with the original Rudy Van Gelder master tapes for these stunning recordings which were specially shipped over from Los Angeles. Our initial release ; Mobley’s Message by Hank Mobley is a classic hard bop session that was recorded on July 20, 1956. The album includes the beautiful ballad “Little girl blue” ; a showcase for Mobley’s tender and nuanced playing.
Mobley’s Message was originally released on the Prestige label in 1957 (PRLP 7061). It features Donald Byrd on trumpet , Barry Harris on piano, Doug Watkins on bass and Art Taylor on drums. Guesting on one track only is Jackie McLean on alto saxophone.
Hank Mobley grew up in New Jersey, USA and started playing the saxophone at the age of 16. His style was subtle and melodic, this was further developed and nurtured through his playing on some of the earliest hard bop sessions with other innovators of the genre – Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Doug Watkins and Kenny Dorham. Mobley enjoyed a prolific career releasing over 20 albums on Blue Note Records alone, however due to lung problems he was forced to retire in the mid-1970’s. Mobley is now widely recognised as one of the greats composers and performers of the hard bop era.
Over two years have been spent refining both the mastering and production processes for the first ERC jazz titles. Particular attention has been given to the recreation of the classic American ‘Frame’ style jacket with both front and back panels faithfully recreated using vintage letterpress techniques.
The pre-release price of this edition will be £300* and is available to order now directly from our website.
* Post release price may vary subject to availability
Front plate and back type set ready for printing.
