Bill Mobley & The Smoke Big Band - Live At Smoke, Vol. 1 & 2 (2011)

'Live at Smoke' is the newest recording from trumpeter Bill Mobley and features him at the head of the renowned Smoke Big Band. This exceptional ensemble has a regular Monday night gig at the celebrated club located on Broadway, New York City and this double CD captures them at their very best. The recording features originals from Mobley and his band mates together with compositions by James Williams and Tony Williams, and two standards. Twelve of the albums thirteen tracks are arranged by the trumpeter, a veteran of the Mingus Dynasty and Maria Schneider Orchestra, and each selection is filled with a sense of exhilaration, dense and distinctive harmonies, and stirring solos. ~ Amazon.com. 

Space Time Records, BG 1134, 2012
Recorded 21st April, 2011 at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club, New York City 

Musicians:
Bill Mobley - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Leader
Seneca Black - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Leader
Mat Jodrell - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Andy Gravish - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Chris Persad - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Tim Sessions - Trombone
Noah Bless - Trombone
Pete McGuinnes - Trombone, Vocals
Joe Gordon - Alto & Soprano Saxophones, Flute
Vito Chiavuzzo - Alto Saxophone, Flute
Jed Levy - Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute
Danny Walsh - Tenor Saxophone, Flute
Andrew Gutauskas - Baritone Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Flute
Jon Davis - Piano
Phil Palombi - Bass
Scott Neumann - Drums 

Special Guests:
Bill Easley - Clarinet (Laura)
Thomas Heflin - Trumpet (Arioso)
Scott Reeves - Trombone (Arioso) 

CD1:
1. I Remember JW {Bill Mobley} (10:09)
2. The Hymnotist {Bill Mobley} (7:35)
3. Time Riff {Bill Mobley} (8:30)
4. Eastern Star {Bill Mobley} (4:48)
5. Four Play {James Williams} (5:50)
6. Laura {David Raksin} (8:09)
7. Eds Groove {Jon Gordon} (9:17) 

Time: 54:23 

CD2:
1. Upper West Side Story {Bill Mobley} (8:29)
2. Sister Cheryl {Tony Williams} (8:26)
3. Travelogue {Jed Levy} (7:02)
4. A Glance In Frozen Time {Bill Mobley} (7:16)
5. Arioso {James Williams; Arr. Scott Reeves} (9:57)
6. But Not For Me {George & Ira Gershwin} (6:23) 

Time: 47:37 

Total Time: 01:42:00 

Credits:
Producer - Bill Mobley, Blue Geodesics
Executive Producer - Walter H. Squindo
Production - Xavier Felgeyrolles
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Paul Stache, David Stoller
Mastering Engineer - Kevin Blackler
Photos - Adriano Mattero
Design - Natalia [Cargo Design] 

See also: www.billmobley.net. 

Arioso

Bill Mobley - Black Elk's Dream (2013)

Bill Mobley's new album Black Elk's Dream is dedicated to Sioux Indian Black Elk, whose famous book "The End of the Dream" (1932) dealt with the plight of Native Americans. Recorded "live" at the Jazz en Tête international festival, Bill Mobley conducts a luxury Franco-American sextet coupled with a very famous chamber orchestra (21 Strings): the Orchester d'Auvergne. The repertoire gives equal weight to originals and standards. One thing is certain: Billy Pierce is imperial (tenor or soprano), Stéphane Guillaume plays more awesome than ever (on the alto, but also on the flute and the bass clarinet), the young classical violinist Maud Lovett is remarkable, and as always, Bill Mobley plays chiseled solos, on the flugelhorn as on the trumpet. The rhythm is really top notch: Manuel Rocheman on the piano, the Italian-American bassist Phil Palombi and the fantastic Billy Kilson on drums. Donald Brown joins the set on one of his compositions, funkier & baroque than ever (the beautiful violinists were captivated!). In this album, the strings are neither Hollywood dancers nor demi-mondaines on the go. And question of writing for the strings, the original work of Bill Mobley already marks the spirits. ~ www.fnac.com. [Translated from French] 

Space Time Records, BG 1337, 2013
Recorded 24th October, 2012 Live at the Jazz en Tête Festival, Clermont-Ferrand, France 

Musicians:
Bill Mobley - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Leader
Billy Pierce - Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
Stéphane Guillaume - Alto Saxophone, Flute, Bass Clarinet
Manuel Rocheman - Piano (#1-6)
Phil Palombi - Bass
Billy Kilson - Drums
Donald Brown - Piano, Keyboards (#7,8)
Maud Lovett - Violin (#4,5)
Orchestre d'Auvergne 

Tracks:
1. Dream Team {Xavier Felgeyrolles} (6:11)
2. Four {Miles Davis} (7:26)
3. The Touch Of Your Lips {Ray Noble} (9:45)
4. Black Elk's Dream, Pt. 1 {Bill Mobley} (6:52)
5. Black Elk's Dream, Pt. 2 {Bill Mobley} (7:49)
6. Alex The Great {Harold Mabern} (11:34)
7. The People Who Live On Hope Street, Pt. 1 {Donald Brown} (9:57)
8. The People Who Live On Hope Street, Pt. 2 {Donald Brown} (5:36) 

Total Time: 65:13 

Four