One of the last great Horace Silver albums for Blue Note, Serenade to a Soul Sister is also one of the pianist’s most infectiously cheerful, good-humored outings. It was recorded at two separate early-1968 sessions with two mostly different quintets, both featuring trumpeter Charles Tolliver and alternating tenor saxophonists…

After the success of Song for My Father and its hit title cut, Horace Silver was moved to pay further tribute to his dad, not to mention connect with some of his roots. Silver’s father was born in the island nation of Cape Verde (near West Africa) before emigrating…

The 1957 Horace Silver Quintet (featuring trumpeter Art Farmer and tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley) is in top form on this date, particularly on “My One and Only Love” and their famous version of “Home Cookin’.” All of Silver’s Blue Note quintet recordings are consistently superb and swinging and, although…

Released on CD as part of the limited-edition Blue Note Connoisseur series, United States of Mind represents pianist and composer Horace Silver’s sprawling trilogy of thematically linked albums recorded between 1970 and ’72: That Healin’ Feelin’, Total Response, and All. To say that these albums were misunderstood is to…

The first classic album by the Horace Silver Quintet, this CD is highlighted by “Señor Blues” (heard in three versions, including a later vocal rendition by Bill Henderson) and “Cool Eyes.” The early Silver quintet was essentially the Jazz Messengers of the year before (with trumpeter Donald Byrd, tenor…

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…

Blowin’ the Blues Away is one of Horace Silver’s all-time Blue Note classics, only upping the ante established on Finger Poppin’ for tightly constructed, joyfully infectious hard bop. This album marks the peak of Silver’s classic quintet with trumpeter Blue Mitchell, tenor saxophonist Junior Cook, bassist Gene Taylor, and…

Horace Silver’s LP Silver’s Serenade is a swan song; it was the final recording with his most famous quintet, which included drummer Roy Brooks, bassist Gene Taylor, saxophonist Junior Cook, and trumpeter Blue Mitchell. The band had made five previous recordings for the label, all of them successful. The…

Following the subtly modern bent of much of The Cape Verdean Blues, Horace Silver recommitted himself to his trademark “funky jazz” sound on The Jody Grind. Yet he also consciously chose to keep a superbly advanced front line, with players like trumpeter Woody Shaw (retained from the Cape Verdean…

Horace-Scope is the third album by Horace Silver’s classic quintet — or most of it, actually, as drummer Louis Hayes was replaced by Roy Brooks starting with this session. The rhythmic drive and overall flavor of the group are still essentially the same, though, and Horace-Scope continues the tight,…