HORACE SILVER JAZZ LEGEND AND PIANO MAESTRO PASSES…
It is with great sadness that we, at Soul Brothers, report the loss of one of Jazz’s all-time greats – Horace Silver. He was 85. Horace (alongside Art Blakey and Hank Mobley) introduced me to the wonders of Hard Bop. The pianist’s music was always accessible, highly melodic and oh so damn funky (in a Jazz sense). For these reasons more serious minded Jazz musicians and critics tended to regard his work less favourably than some of his contemporaries – god forbid that Jazz should be enjoyable!
He made his name with the Jazz Messengers – a cooperatively run group led by Art Blakey. It is whilst with the Jazz Messengers that Silver honed his songwriting skills – check ‘Nica’s Dream’ from 1956’s ‘Art Blakey: The Jazz Messengers’ that later became a hallmark of his recordings.
Silver signed a solo contract with Blue Note Records in 1956 and recorded for the label for the next 20 years or so. The bulk of his classic albums were released on Blue Note – recordings such as ‘A Song For My Father’, ‘Tokyo Blues’ and ‘Doin The Thing’. And they sold in relatively large numbers for Jazz records. It is a testament that the popularity of these grooves was sustained through the sixties, the Jazz dance era of the 80’s and 90’s and on to the present day. ‘Song For My Father’ is one of the definitive Blue Note albums, and the title song – beautifully covered, with added lyrics by Leon Thomas – is amongst Jazz’s finest compositions.
Horace’s playing style was always fluid and at times his solos were played at breakneck speed. His music was always engaging and at times quirky and frequently with humourous melodies. The horn lines – brilliantly performed by Blue Mitchell and Junior Cook in the early sixties – were just sublime as songs like ‘Sayonara Blues’ (my all-time favourite Hard Bop groove), ‘Filthy McNasty’ and ‘Blowin The Blues Away’ amply illustrate. Many of these grooves became Jazz dance classics at Jazz dance venues like Dingwalls in London.
