Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley helped inaugurate the hard bop movement: jazz that balanced sophistication and soulfulness, complexity and earthy swing, and a loose structure that allowed for extended improvisations. On his 1956 Prestige release Mobley's Message, Mobley delivers his signature swinging style in three different variations. Four numbers are by a quintet that includes Donald Byrd on trumpet. For Charlie Parker's blues, ''Au Privave,'' the group becomes a sextet with the addition of alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, while Mobley is the sole horn on ''Little Girl Blue.'' This superb audiophile SACD reissue from Analogue Productions is packaged in a ''mini LP'' jacket, producing an authentic old-school look and feel.
