Horace Silver From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Birth name Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva[1] Born September 2, 1928 Norwalk, Connecticut, United States Died June 18, 2014 (aged 85)[2] Ottawa, Canada[2] Genres Jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, mainstream jazz, soul jazz, jazz fusion, post-bop Occupations Musician, composer, bandleader Instruments Piano Years active 1950–1999 Associated acts Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Art Farmer, Gigi Gryce, Milt Jackson, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Junior Cook, Blue Mitchell, Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson, Bob Cranshaw, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Mickey Roker Horace Silver (born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva, September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014)[2] was an American jazz pianist and composer.[1] Silver is known for his distinctive humorous and funky playing style and for his pioneering compositional contributions to hard bop. He was influenced by a wide range of musical styles, notably gospel music, African music, and Latin American music and sometimes ventured into the soul jazz genre.[3][4] Silver was born on September 2, 1928, in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States. His father, John Tavares Silva, was from the island of Maio in Cape Verde while his mother was born in New Canaan, Connecticut, and was of Irish-African descent. Silver began his career as a tenor saxophonist but later switched to piano. His tenor saxophone playing was highly influenced by Lester Young, and his piano style by Bud Powell. Silvers big break came in 1950 backing saxophonist Stan Getz at The Sundown Club in Hartford, Connecticut.[5] Getz liked Silvers band and took them on the road, eventually recording three of Silvers compositions. It was with Getz that Silver made his recording debut. Silver moved to New York City in 1951, where he worked at the jazz club Birdland on Monday nights, when different musicians would come together and informally jam. During that year he met the executives of the label Blue Note while working as a sideman. He eventually signed with them, remaining there until 1980. In New York, he formed the Jazz Messengers, a cooperatively-run group with Art Blakey. In 1952 and 1953 Silver recorded three sessions with his own trio, featuring Blakey on drums and Gene Ramey, Curly Russell and Percy Heath on bass. The drummer-pianist team lasted for four years; during this time, Silver and Blakey recorded at Birdland (A Night at Birdland Vol. 1) with Russell, Clifford Brown and Lou Donaldson; at the Bohemia with Kenny Dorham and Hank Mobley; and also in the recording studio. Silver was also a member of the Miles Davis All Stars, recording the Walkin album in 1954. During his time with Blakey, Silver rarely recorded as a leader, but after splitting with him in 1956, he formed his own hard bop quintet at first featuring the same line-up as Blakeys Jazz Messengers with 18-year-old Louis Hayes replacing Blakey. Blue Note years[edit] From 1956 onwards, Silver recorded exclusively for Blue Note, eventually becoming close to label boss Alfred Lion, who allowed him greater input on aspects of album production than was usual at the time. During his years with Blue Note, Silver helped to create the rhythmically forceful branch of jazz known as hard bop, which combined elements of rhythm-and-blues and gospel music with jazz. Gospel elements are particularly prominent on one of his biggest hits, The Preacher, which Lion thought corny, but which Silver persuaded him to record. While Silvers compositions at this time featured surprising tempo shifts and a range of melodic ideas, they caught the attention of a wide audience. His own piano playing easily shifted from aggressively percussive to lushly romantic within just a few bars. At the same time, his sharp use of repetition was funky even before that word could be used in polite company. Along with Silvers own work, his bands often featured such rising jazz stars as saxophonists Junior Cook and Hank Mobley, trumpeter Blue Mitchell, and drummer Louis Hayes. Silvers key albums from this period include Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers (1955), 6 Pieces of Silver (1956) and Blowin the Blues Away (1959), which includes his famous Sister Sadie. He also combined jazz with a sassy take on pop through the hit Filthy McNasty (1961). In 1963 Silver created a new group featuring Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone and Carmell Jones on trumpet; this quintet recorded most of Silvers best-known album Song for My Father. When Jones left to settle in Europe, the trumpet chair was filled by a young Woody Shaw and Tyrone Washington replaced Henderson. As social and cultural upheavals shook the nation during the late 1960s and early 1970s, Silver responded to these changes through music. He commented directly on the new scene through a trio of records much later collected together under the title The United States of Mind (1970–72) that featured the spirited vocals of Andy Bey. The composer got deeper into cosmic philosophy as his group, Silver N Strings, recorded Silver N Strings Play The Music of the Spheres (1979). Influences[edit] Horace Silver at Keystone Korner, San Francisco CA 1978. Photo: Brian McMillen Silver tended not to play up that he was proficient in Portuguese, nor draw directly on his rich Lusophone musical upbringing. His 1965 hit, Cape Verdean Blues, is the only clear rhythmic reference to his childhood home where his father and friends jammed, with traditional Capeverdean morna and coladeira as the main fare. In the interview for the liner notes to 1964s Song for My Father (Cantiga Para Meu Pai), however, Silver remarked of the title track, This tune is an original of mine, but it has a flavor of it that makes me think of my childhood days. Some of the family, including my father and my uncle, used to have musical parties with three or four stringed instruments; my father played violin and guitar. Those were happy, informal sessions. Silver melded additional Lusophone influences into his music directly after his February 1964 tour of Brazil. Referring to Song for My Father, Silver said, I was very much impressed by the authentic bossa nova beat. Not just the monotonous tick-tick-tick, tick-tick, the way its usually done, but the real bossa nova feeling, which Ive tried to incorporate into this number. His early influences included the styles of boogie-woogie and the blues. It includes but is not limited to Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, Nat King Cole, and Thelonious Monk. He liked to quote other musicians within his own work and would often recreate famous solos in his original pieces as something of a tribute to the greats who influenced him. Silvers compositions, catchy and very strong harmonically, gained popularity while his band gradually switched to funk and soul. This change of style was not readily accepted by many long-time fans. The quality of several albums of this era, such as the The United States of Mind sequence (on which Silver himself provided vocals on several tracks), is to this day contested by critics. Silvers spirituality displayed on these albums also has a mixed reputation. Silver was the last musician to be signed to Blue Note in the 1970s before it went into temporary hiatus. In 1981 he formed his own short-lived labels, Silveto and Emerald. Later years[edit] After Silvers long tenure with Blue Note ended, he continued to create vital music. The 1985 album Continuity of Spirit (Silveto) features his unique orchestral collaborations. In the 1990s, he directly answered the urban popular music that had been largely built from his influence on Its Got To Be Funky (Columbia, 1993). Living surrounded by a devoted family in California, Silver has received much of the recognition due a venerable jazz icon. In 2005, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) gave him its Presidents Merit Award. The SFJAZZ Collective focused on Silvers music for their 2010 season.[6] Silver died at the age of 85 in Ottawa, Canada. Legacy[edit] Silvers music has been a major force in modern jazz. He was one of the first pioneers of the style known as hard bop, influencing such pianists as Bobby Timmons, Les McCann, and Ramsey Lewis. Nor did Silvers talent go unnoticed among rock musicians who bore jazz influences; Steely Dan sent Silver into the Top 40 in the early 1970s when they crafted their biggest hit single, Rikki, Dont Lose That Number, off the bass riff that opens Song for My Father.
Posted on: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 21:20:57 +0000
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