The Horace Silver Quintet - 6 Pieces of Silver

This 1956 recording by the Silver Quintet, featuring Hank Mobley on tenor sax and Donald Byrd on trumpet, is pure hard-bop heaven created by some of the masters of the genre. After spending the previous two years playing piano on some of Miles Davis' classic Prestige and Blue Note albums, and touring with the Art Blakey Quintet and the first edition of his Jazz Messengers, Silver was more than ready to step forward as a leader. His compositional talents had already been showcased with Blakey's groups, especially on 1954's "Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers" (Blue Note), but "Six Pieces of Silver" was his his first chance to record with his own working quintet.All six Silver originals are gems, including classics like "Senor Blues" and "Cool Eyes," and the ensemble playing throughout is outstanding, especially given the group's youthfulness—Silver is the elder statesman at twenty-eight; drummer Louis Hayes the youngest at nineteen. Silver's writing at this early point in his career is more solidly in the bebop camp than his later funk and soul efforts, but the blues, gospel, and Caribbean influences that are his trademarks are evident. His own playing is marvelously subtle, showing a clear debt to Powell and Monk, especially on slower numbers like "Enchantment" and the trio efforts "Shirl" and "For Heaven's Sake." Mobley's big, warm tenor is a particularly good fit with Silver's piano, and the young Donald Byrd shines on upbeat numbers like "Virgo." The rhythm section of Doug Watkins on bass and Hayes on drums provides excellent support throughout the session. The CD reissue, part of Blue Note's Connoisseur series, also includes the popular vocal version of "Senor Blues" by Bill Henderson.

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The Horace Silver Quintet - Song For My Father

Review by Steve Huey

One of Blue Note's greatest mainstream hard bop dates, Song for My Father is Horace Silver's signature LP and the peak of a discography already studded with classics. Silver was always a master at balancing jumping rhythms with complex harmonies for a unique blend of earthiness and sophistication, and Song for My Father has perhaps the most sophisticated air of all his albums. Part of the reason is the faintly exotic tint that comes from Silver's flowering fascination with rhythms and modes from overseas -- the bossa nova beat of the classic "Song for My Father," for example, or the Eastern-flavored theme of "Calcutta Cutie," or the tropical-sounding rhythms of "Que Pasa?" Subtle touches like these alter Silver's core sound just enough to bring out its hidden class, which is why the album has become such a favorite source of upscale ambience. Song for My Father was actually far less focused in its origins than the typical Silver project; it dates from the period when Silver was disbanding his classic quintet and assembling a new group, and it features performances from both bands (and, on the CD reissue with bonus tracks, three different sessions). Still, it hangs together remarkably well, and Silver's writing is at its tightest and catchiest. The title cut became Silver's best-known composition, partly because it provided the musical basis for jazz-rock group Steely Dan's biggest pop hit "Rikki Don't Lose That Number." Another hard bop standard is introduced here in the lone non-Silver tune, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson's "The Kicker," covered often for the challenge of its stuttering phrases and intricate rhythms. Yet somehow it comes off as warm and inviting as the rest of the album, which is necessary for all jazz collections -- mainstream hard bop rarely comes as good as Song for My Father.

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Horace Silver - Safari 1952-1954

I came across this incidentally, check liner notes for more informations.

• 1.Safari
• 2.Thou Swell
• 3.Yeah!
• 4.Horacescope (Horoscope)
• 5.Prelude To A Kiss
• 6.Ecaroh
• 7.Quicksilver
• 8.Knowledge Box
• 9.Opus De Funk
• 10.Day In, Day Out
• 11.How About You
• 12.I Remember You
• 13.Silverware
• 14.Buhaina
• 15.Doodlin'
• 16.Creepin' In
• 17.Room 608
• 18.Stop Time

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Thelonious Monk - The Complete Blue Note Recordings

"From the 1947 sessions that lead off this set through to the 1958 live recordings at the Five Spot with John Coltrane, this box set chronicles the development of one of the most unique and creative American musicians. The first CD dates entirely from 1947, and on it we hear a Monk conversant in the bebop idiom, his distinct style emerging. By 1951 on the second CD we have a gorgeous version of "Ask Me Now," with all the delightful rhythmic hesitation that became one of his trademarks. "Reflections" on the third CD has Sonny Rollins caressing the melody in an almost languid tempo, followed by a classic version of "Misterioso," with J.J. Johnson and Horace Silver sharing the piano role. The Monk-Coltrane live cuts on the fourth CD are incandescent. All in all, a set that is both enlightening (with a number of alternate takes) in its scope and delightful in its sheer musicianship and creative spark." --Michael Monhart

Personnel: Thelonious Monk (piano); Kenny "Pancho" Hagood (vocals); Danny Quebec West, Sahib Shihab, Lou Donaldson (alto saxophone); Sonny Rollins, Lucky Thompson, John Coltrane (tenor saxophone); Idrees Sulieman, George Taitt, Kenny Dorham (trumpet); J.J. Johnson (trombone); Milt Jackson (vibraphone); Horace Silver (piano); John Simmons, Gene Ramey, Al McKibbon, Paul Chambers, Ahmed Abdul-Malik, Bob Paige, Nelson Boyd (bass); Art Blakey, Max Roach, Shadow Wilson, Roy Haynes (drums).

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey on April 14, 1957; live at the Five Spot, New York, New York on September 11, 1958; Apex Studios, New York, New York on July 2, 1948; WOR Studios, New York, New York between October 15, 1947 and May 30, 1952.

Added to Monk’s original Blue Note sessions (1947-52) are the two tracks he cut with Sonny Rollins in ’56 and the recently discovered live ’58 Five Spot recording with John Coltrane. The Five Spot session has been speed corrected, and the early dates have been de-clicked. Sidemen include Art Blakey, Milt Jackson, Lou Donaldson, Lucky Thompson and Sahib Shihab.

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