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Horace Silver Quintet: Live New York Revisited
by Chris May
This fabulous album, recorded during three New York club engagements in 1964, 1965 and 1966, ranks among the finest in the pianist/composer's illustrious catalogue. There are several things going for it: the quality and shared intentionality of the two, slightly different, lineups; the choice of material and its careful sequencing; the vibrancy of the performances, which is enough to practically raise the dead; and the quality of the CD mastering by the ezz-thetics label's sonic jedi Michael Brändli, whose work ...
Continue ReadingBlue Note 50th Anniversaries: April 1970
by Marc Cohn
Time for 50th anniversary Blue Notes from April, 1970 from Duke Pearson (It Could Only Happen With You), Horace Silver (That Healin' Feelin'), Chick Corea (The Song Of Singing), and Wayne Shorter (Moto Grosso Feio). We've also got BN-21 from January 6, 1939 with Albert Ammons on the 88s. Along the way, Stanley Turrentine, Erik Jekabson, Miles Davis & Enrico Rava. Enjoy the show. R.I.P. (too many!): Wallace Roney (May 25, 1960--March 31, 2020); Ellis Marsalis (November 14, ...
Continue ReadingHorace Silver in the '60s (1959-1965)
by Russell Perry
Despite revisionist history that suggests that the energy of hard bop was spent by the time the sixties came, in the last hour we heard from the great 1960s Freddie Hubbard— Wayne Shorter—Curtis Fuller—Cedar Walton edition of The Jazz Messengers. In this hour of Jazz at 100, we will turn to Horace Silver's terrific 1960s quintets, featuring trumpeters Blue Mitchell, Carmel Jones and Woody Shaw; tenor players Junior Cook and Joe Henderson and guest trombonist—the veteran—JJ Johnson. The two flagship ...
Continue ReadingBlue Note 50th Anniversaries: January 1969 & More
by Marc Cohn
We celebrate Blue Note 50th anniversary recordings from Frank Foster (material never formally released until a CD reissue of Manhattan Fever), Lonnie Smith and Horace Silver. Certamente, there's more--including a 75th anniversary salute to sides by clarinetist Edmond Hall with Red Norvo and Teddy Wilson, and a 78 rpm recording of Blue Note 5 by Earl Hines, solo at the 88s. Enjoy the show! Playlist Edward Simon “Chega De Saudade" from Latin American Songbook (Sunnyside) 00:00 Frank Foster ...
Continue ReadingNewport Jazz Festival 1959
by Marc Davis
The collector asks: When is it OK to say, “I have enough, thanks. I don't need the live version, too." Consider the dilemma of Wolfgang's Vault, a musical treasure trove of old jazz and rock performances. If you've never been there, go now. The site is stunning. It is an enormous collection of long-lost jazz shows, mostly from the 1950s, '60s and '70s. For the fan and collector, it's a must see. But is it also ...
Continue ReadingHorace Silver: The United States of Mind – Revisited
by Marc Davis
At what point did Blue Note Records jump the shark? Is there a single moment when Blue Note stopped being the world's greatest purveyor of jazz and instead became an irrelevant producer of schlock? Truth is, it was a long, slow slide. In the 1950s, Blue Note was the greatest source of hard bop. In the 1960s, it produced the best soul-jazz on earth. And then, one day in the 1970s--poof! It was all gone. Where did it ...
Continue ReadingHorace Silver: Serenade to a Soul Sister - 1968
by Marc Davis
Is it possible to love an album for just one song? I think I do. Serenade to a Soul Sister is the happy marriage of jazz's funkiest pianist (Horace Silver) with its most soulful saxman (Stanley Turrentine). Throw in a fabulously underrated trumpeter with a big fat tone (Charles Tolliver) and you've got one of the best soul-jazz classics of the 1960s. Serenade features six original compositions by Silver, and every one is a gem. One, ...
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