Bill Mobley
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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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
trumpet and
flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...
player.


Early life and education

Mobley was born in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
. 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 located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...
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 liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South and is accredited by the Southern Associa ...
in 1976.


Career

After graduating from college, Mobley relocated from Memphis to
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, where he took a position teaching at
Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...
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. 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 musical ...
and
Clifford Jordan Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player and composer. Originally from Chicago, Jordan later moved to New York City, where he recorded extensively in addition to touring across ...
, 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 and ...
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) * ''Black Elk's Dream'' (Space Time, 2013) - a live album with Orchestre d'Auvergne * ''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 durin ...
, ''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 S ...
, ''First Call'' (Milestone, 1991) * Bill Easley, ''Easley Said'' (Evidence, 1997) * Geoff Keezer, ''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. 425 ...
, '' The Leading Man'' (Columbia, 1993) *
Calvin Newborn Edwin Calvin Newborn (April 27, 1933 – December 1, 2018) was an American jazz guitarist. Career He was the brother of pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. (1931–89), with whom he recorded between 1953 and 1958. They also formed an R&B band, with the ...
, ''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 atte ...
, ''Blue Black'' (Space Time, 2001) * Roberta Piket, ''One for Marian: Celebrating Marian McPartland'' (Thirteen Note, 2016)


References

* Gary W. Kennedy, "Bill Mobley". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd edition, ed.
Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at ...
. 1953 births Living people American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters 21st-century American trumpeters Jazz musicians from Tennessee 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians {{US-jazz-musician-stub