Horace Silver

Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (born September 2, 1928) is a famous jazz pianist and composer. He is known for his distinctive humorous and funky playing style, and for his pioneering contributions to hard bop. Silver was influenced by a wide range of musical styles, notably gospel music, African music, and Latin American music.

Related Topics:
September 2 - 1928 - Jazz - Pianist - Composer - Hard bop - Gospel music - African music - Latin American music

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Silver began his career as a saxophonist, but later switched to piano. His playing was highly influenced by the style of Bud Powell, however, his musical abilities at some points in his career seemed to overpower Powell's. Silver was discovered in a Hartford, CT club by saxophonist Stan Getz. He moved to New York, where he teamed with Art Blakey. In 1952 and 1953 he recorded three sessions with his own trio, featuring Blakey on drums and Gene Ramey, Curly Russell and Percy Heath subsequently taking up the bass. The drummer-pianist team lasted for four years; during this time, Silver and Blakey recorded at Birdland (A Night at Birdland, Blue Note) with Clifford Brown and Lou Donaldson, at the Bohemia with Kenny Dorham and Hank Mobley, and finally - in the studios. One of the studio albums was the famous The Jazz Messengers. During Silver's time with Blakey he rarely recorded as a leader, but having split with him in 1956, he formed his own hardbop quintet, at first featuring the same lineup as Blakey's Jazz Messengers, with 18-years-old Louis Hayes subbing for Blakey. The quintet's second lineup featured Blue Mitchell and Junior Cook; they remained Silver's partners for a few years, parting with Silver in 1963, when he managed to assemble a new band. This one featured Joe Henderson on the tenor sax and Carmell Jones on trumpet; with them the quintet recorded one of the best albums by Silver - Song for my Father. Jones soon left the trumpet spot for a young Woody Shaw.

Related Topics:
Bud Powell - Stan Getz - Art Blakey - Gene Ramey - Curly Russell - Percy Heath - Clifford Brown - Lou Donaldson - Kenny Dorham - Hank Mobley - Louis Hayes - Blue Mitchell - Junior Cook - Joe Henderson - Carmell Jones - Woody Shaw

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During the sixties, the Silver bands were constantly merging hardbop with soul and R&B. Silver's compositions, at times very catchy, and often very strong harmonically, gained popularity while his band moved towards a switch to the funk and soul territory. This change of style was not readily accepted by many long-time fans. The quality of several albums of this era, such as The United States of Mind (on which Silver himself provided vocals on several tracks), is to this day contested by fans of the genre. However, many of these later albums featured many interesting musicians (such as Randy Brecker). Silver remains one of the best pianists around, but doesn't record as much as he did in the sixties.

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