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Hank Mobley
American musician
Also known as: Henry Mobley
Quick Facts
- Byname of:
- Henry Mobley
- Born:
- July 7, 1930, Eastman, Georgia, U.S.
- Died:
- May 30, 1986, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (aged 55)
Hank Mobley (born July 7, 1930, Eastman, Georgia, U.S.—died May 30, 1986, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an American lyric jazz tenor saxophonist. Noted for his melodic fluency and rhythmic sophistication, the prolific Mobley was important in defining the hard-bop idiom. Mobley began playing tenor saxophone as a New Jersey teenager and gained experience in the bands of Max Roach (1951–53) and Dizzy Gillespie (1954). Lester Young and especially Charlie Parker were important early influences, though by 1954–56, when he was a founding member of the original Jazz Messengers, he had become a distinctive personal stylist. He worked in two more major ...(100 of 260 words)