Henry "Hank" Mobley
(July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was a 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, and
his style that was laid-back, subtle and melodic, especially in contrast with
players like Sonny Rollins and Coltrane. The critic Stacia Proefrock claimed he
is "one of the most underrated musicians of the bop era."