Henry (Hank) Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by
Leonard Feather as the “middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone”, a metaphor used to describe his tone that was neither as aggressive as John
Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz. This description however was translated by jazz connoisseurs as though Mobley was mediocre. And as his style was laid-
back, subtle and melodic, especially in contrast with players like Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, it took connoisseurs until after his demise to fully appreciate
his talent.
