Joseph William Mobley (born April 7, 1953) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

trumpet and flugelhorn player.

Early life and education

Mobley was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. Both of his parents were musicians. Mobley learned piano, his mother's instrument, from age five, and while his father sang and played trombone and trumpet, Mobley did not have formal trumpet lessons in his youth. He studied music education at

North Texas State University The University of North Texas (UNT) is a Public university, public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private Normal school, teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 y ...

in 1971 and 1972, then returned to Memphis, where he played with Herman Green and James Williams. He earned a bachelor's degree from

Rhodes College Rhodes College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Sout ...

in 1976.

Career

After graduating from college, Mobley relocated from Memphis to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where he took a position teaching at Berklee College of Music from 1982 to 1986. His credits in the 1980s included work with Bill Pierce, Donald Brown, the

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

Orchestra under the direction of Dick Johnson, and

Geoff Keezer Geoffrey Keezer (born November 20, 1970) is an American jazz pianist. Keezer was playing in jazz clubs as a teenager, playing piano for Art Blakey at age 18 and touring with Joshua Redman, Benny Golson and Ray Brown in his 20s. He has toured w ...

. In the 1990s he performed with

Marvin "Smitty" Smith Marvin "Smitty" Smith (born June 24, 1961) is an American jazz drummer and composer. Marvin Smith was born in Waukegan, Illinois, where his father, Marvin Sr., was a drummer. "Smitty" was exposed to music at a young age, receiving formal musica ...

and

Clifford Jordan Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after ...

, also playing with his own

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

in New York City.

Discography

As leader

* ''Triple Bill'' (Evidence, 1996) * ''Mean What You Say'' (Space Time, 1999) * ''Moodscape'' (Space Time, 2007) * ''New Light'' (Space Time, 2008) * ''Live at Smoke'' (Space Time, 2011) * ''Hittin' Home'' (Space Time, 2016)

As sideman

With Donald Brown * ''Early Bird'' (Sunnyside, 1988) * ''Cartunes'' (Muse, 1995) * ''Wurd On the Skreet'' (Space Time, 1998) * ''At This Point in My Life'' (Space Time, 2001) * ''Fast Forward to the Past'' (Space Time, 2008) With others *

Alan Dawson Alan Dawson (July 14, 1929 – February 23, 1996) was an American jazz drummer and percussion teacher based in Boston. Biography Dawson was born in Marietta, Pennsylvania and raised in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Serving in the U.S. Army during th ...

, ''Waltzin' with Flo'' (Space Time, 1998) *

Bill Easley Bill Easley (born January 13, 1946) is an American jazz musician who plays saxophone, flute, and clarinet. Early life and education Easley was born and raised in Olean, New York. He began playing music at the age of 13 and studied at Memphis ...

, ''First Call'' (Milestone, 1991) * Bill Easley, ''Easley Said'' (Evidence, 1997) *

, ''Waiting in the Wings'' (Sunnyside, 1989) * Geoff Keezer, ''Other Spheres'' (DIW, 1993) *

Harold Mabern Harold Mabern Jr. (March 20, 1936 – September 17, 2019) was an American jazz pianist and composer, principally in the hard bop, post-bop, and soul jazz fields.Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. p. 4 ...

, '' The Leading Man'' (Columbia, 1993) * Calvin Newborn, ''Up City!'' (Yellow Dog, 2005) * Sara K., ''Play On Words'' (Chesky, 1994) *

Jean Toussaint Jean Toussaint (born July 27, 1960) is an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist. Life and career Toussaint was born in Aruba, Dutch Antilles, and was raised in Saint Thomas and New York City. He learned to play calypso as a child and att ...

, ''Blue Black'' (Space Time, 2001)

References

* Gary W. Kennedy, "Bill Mobley". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld. 1953 births Living people American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters 21st-century trumpeters Jazz musicians from Tennessee 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians {{US-jazz-musician-stub