Mobley, Hank: Poppin' (Tone Poet) LP

Blue Note collectors greatly appreciate Hank Mobley for the tenor-saxophonist could always be relied upon to contribute inspired solos, catchy originals, and a leadership style that resulted in memorable matchups with the greats of hard bop. Mobley recorded so many classics during his prime years that album's like Poppin', a session from late 1957, went unissued until 1980. It finds Mobley leading a solid sextet with Art Farmer, Pepper Adams, Sonny Clark, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones in its ranks. The ensemble sound of the band gives the proceedings a distinctive, ominous flavor but this is essentially a blowing date.

The Blue Note Tone Poet Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was' admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. The label brought Joe Harley (from Music Matters), aka the "Tone Poet," on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels. Extreme attention to detail has been paid to getting these right in every conceivable way, from the deluxe gatefold jacket graphics and printing quality to superior mastering (all analog direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray to superb 180-gram audiophile LP pressings by Record Technology Inc. Every aspect of these Blue Note/Tone Poet releases is done to the highest-possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version.

"The LPs are mastered directly from the original analog master tapes by Kevin at his incredible facility called Cohearent Mastering. We go about it in the exact same way that we did for so many years for the Music Matters Blue Note reissues. We do not roll off the low end, boost the top or do any limiting of any kind. We allow the full glory of the original Blue Note masters to come though unimpeded! Short of having an actual time machine, this is as close as you can get to going back and being a fly on the wall for an original Blue Note recording session."
- Joe Harley