''A Slice of the Top'' is an album by jazz saxophonist

Hank Mobley 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 descr ...

recorded on March 18, 1966. The album was not released on the

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

label until 1979. It features performances by Mobley with a larger than usual ensemble of trumpeter

Lee Morgan Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s, Morgan came to prominence in his late teens, recording on John Coltrane's '' Blue Train'' (1 ...

, euphonium player

Kiane Zawadi Bernard Atwell McKinney, later Kiane Zawadi (born November 26, 1932) is an American jazz trombonist and euphonium player, one of the few jazz soloists on the latter instrument. Biography McKinney was born into a family of ten children, several of ...

, tuba player Howard Johnson, alto saxophonist

James Spaulding James Ralph Spaulding Jr. (born July 30, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, United states, Spaulding attended the Chicago Cosmopolitan School of Music. Between 1957 and 1961, he was a member of Sun ...

, pianist

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA ...

, bassist

Bob Cranshaw Melbourne Robert Cranshaw (December 3, 1932 – November 2, 2016) was an American jazz bassist. His career spanned the heyday of Blue Note Records to his recent involvement with the Musicians Union. He is perhaps best known for his long associa ...

, and drummer

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...

. The arrangements were written by

Duke Pearson Columbus Calvin "Duke" Pearson Jr. (August 17, 1932 – August 4, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer. ''Allmusic'' describes him as having a "big part in shaping the Blue Note label's hard bop direction in the 1960s as a record produ ...

. On the original LP,

Reggie Workman Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey. Career Early in his career, Workman worke ...

was mistakenly identified on the sleeve as the bassist.

Composition and Release

Mobley composed the music for the album in 1964 while imprisoned for a narcotics offence. The sheet music was given to

to arrange while Mobley was incarcerated. Mobley was bitter about Blue Note delaying the release of the album until over a decade after it was recorded. In an interview, Mobley complained:

I have about five records on the shelf - Blue Note had half the black musicians around New York City, and now the records are just lying around. What they do is just hold it and wait for you to die.

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

awarded the album 4½ stars, stating: "Mobley, who continued to evolve into a more advanced player throughout the 1960s, fits right in with such adventurous players as altoist James Spaulding, trumpeter Lee Morgan (with whom Mobley recorded frequently), pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Billy Higgins. The inclusion of Kiane Zawadi on euphonium and Howard Johnson on tuba adds a lot of color to this memorable outing."

Track listing

All compositions by Hank Mobley except as noted # "Hank's Other Bag" – 7:12 # "There's a Lull In My Life" (

Mack Gordon Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959) was an American composer and lyricist for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years betwee ...

Harry Revel Harry Revel ( Glaser; 21 December 1905 – 3 November 1958) was a British-born American composer, mostly of musical theatre, working with various lyricists, notably Mack Gordon. He is also seen as a pioneer of " space age pop". Early life and c ...

) – 5:25 # "Cute 'N Pretty" – 7:36 # "A Touch of the Blues" – 8:46 # "A Slice of the Top" - 9:40 Personnel: Hank Mobley - tenor saxophone James Spaulding - alto saxophone Lee Morgan - trumpet Kiane Zawadi - euphonium Howard Johnson - tuba McCoy Tyner - piano Bob Cranshaw - bass Billy Higgins - drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slice of the Top, A 1979 albums Albums produced by Alfred Lion Blue Note Records albums Hank Mobley albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio