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Horace Silver - A Prescription For The Blues
Audio CD (October 7, 1997)
Original Release Date: October 7, 1997
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Impulse/Grp Records
Genre: Straightahead/Mainstream/Bop/Hard Bop/Cool
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Source: Original CD
Size Torrent: 361 Mb
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Tracks:
1 Prescription for the Blues Silver 5:12
2 Whenever Lester Plays the Blues Silver 6:35
3 You Gotta Shake That Thing Silver 5:16
4 Yodel Lady Blues Silver 6:42
5 Brother John and Brother Gene Silver 4:43
6 Free at Last Silver 6:27
7 Walk On Silver 6:26
8 Sunrise in Malibu Silver 5:01
9 Doctor Jazz King Oliver, Melrose 5:31
Musicians:
Horace Silver: piano
Michael Brecker: tenor saxophone
Randy Brecker: trumpet
Ron Carter: bass
Louis Hayes: drums
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Bio
No other pianist and composer has the exuberance and talent of the master of funky jazz innovation, ,Horace Silver. Since his early years a creative force in the hardbop movement, Silver has constantly pushed the music into new territory and remains an enduring force in defining the contemporary straight-ahead jazz sound. Now, with Jazz Has a Sense of Humor, his first release on Verve, he makes it clear that his upbeat musical perspective stems from his philosophy on living: having a smile in your heart and on your face will buoy your spirits when facing adversity - and sometimes even chase away the blues.
Jazz Has a Sense of humor is Silver's third collaboration with Grammy-winning executive producer and Verve Music Group Chairman Tommy LiPuma. "He knows what he's doing and we work well together," Silver says. "When we're getting ready to start a new project, I get a concept and give him a slew of material to choose from. Then we each pick the strongest tunes. When we compare notes, we usually pick the same ones."
For this date, Silver chose a hot young band to interpret his tunes: Ryan Kisor (trumpet) from the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra: Mimmy Greene (tenor and soprano sax) who plays with Avishai Cohen: John Webber (bass) a rising star from Chicago: and Willie Jones III (drums), who gigs regularly with Roy Hargrove. Silver, who is a master at getting a quintet sound that's spacious and full, liberally showcases these up-and-coming players, giving each ample room to step out and shine.
Silver's love of a good laugh and his sly, sometimes even slightly naughty, sense of fun is evident throughout Jazz Has a Sense of Humor. "I listened to an interview with Duke Ellington once," he recalls. "The interviewer asked him if he thought humor was important in music and Duke said, "if it doesn't have humor, it's nothing,.' These tunes, titles and lyrics, for the most part, share a light-hearted approach. Of course, some of my tunes have a more serious, profound depth, but I usually like to stay on the humorous side." Silver, who is featured on piano throughout this release, penned lyrics for most of these tunes. Though not sung, they are printed in the CD's liner notes, and reveal much about the composer's own sense of humor - as well as his perspectives on love and romance.
"Ah-Ma-Tell," for example, is downright silly, even reminiscent of childhood taunts, and was inspired by some rock beats Silver heard on television. "I went to the piano and started foolin' around. Wrote the tune first and then the lyrics, which is usually how I write," he adds. Kisor and Greene punch out the recurring theme with crisp boldness, helping Silver to drive home the indelible image in his lyrics.
Two tunes - "Philley Millie" and "Gloria" - have a more romantic them. "I dig the lyrics on "Gloria", one of my more clever tunes," Silver concedes. "It's got a Latin feel and I love Latin music. The guys played really well on this one." The closing tune, "Where Do I Go From Here" is, he says, "a question everybody asks themselves sometime in life. It's about stumbling blocks and all that."
Silver's music reflects his roots, as well his openness to all types of music, embracing Broadway tunes, musicals, and classical music as much as jazz, rock, blues, and folk. His mother and father were African American and Cape Verdean, respectively, and Silver grew up listening to Gospel music in the Baptist Church, though he was equally attracted to the blues, Latin rhythms, and African folk music. "It feels great to be called a legend," he admits. "It's something I never would have dreamed of in my earlier years."
He started his musical studies with classical piano lessons and played both tenor and baritone sax in Norwalk, Connecticut. In later years, Silver parlayed this abiding affection for brass into an instantly recognizable trademark: for more than four decades, his quintets have prominently featured trumpet and sax to stunning effect. "It's not only that Iike the horns up front in quintets: it's what we started out with, what I'm widely known for. And people love us for it. People will accept Horace Silver in other configurations," he adds, citing the seven-piece ensemble he recorded for Hardbop Grandpop (his 1996 Impulse! Debut) and his use of vocals in U. S. State of Mind (one of several acclaimed releases during his 28-year tenure at Blue Note). "I like to change up but I always return to the quintet," as he did in his 1997 Impulse! Recording, A Prescription For The Blues.
Silver's powerful percussive bass lines and buoyant, almost dancing, melodic touch, propelled jazz into uncharted territory. His 1954 gospel-inspired hit, "The Preacher", recorded with his band, the original Jazz Messengers, gave birth to the "soul" movement in jazz - and established Silver as a leader in a new direction of jazz, one that took a sharp 180-degree turn away from the more cerebral bebop style then so prevalent. (That same year, he recorded the historic hardbop classic, "Walkin," with Miles Davis, and "Opus De Funk,") Two years later, leaving the Jazz Messengers in Art Blakely's capable hands, he started his first quintet. Silver is now widely regarded as one of the great composer/melodists whose beloved compositions- "Song For My Father," "Senor Blues," "Doodlin'," "Nica's Dream," "Sister Sadie," and countless others - are core jazz repertory.
Through the years, he has tirelessly mentored and showcased countless new talents - Joe Henderson, the Brecker Brothers, Blue Mitchell, Woody Shaw, Louis Hayes, and others among them - and now the bright young players on Jazz Has a Sense of Humor join their ranks.
Silver feels strongly about his responsibility to pass on what he knows, acknowledging the value of the lessons he learned while developing his distinctive style and gaining confidence as a performer. "I received help from so many. Stan Getz discovered me in Connecticut and got me on the road to my career," recalling the Getz trio he toured and recorded with in 1950-51.
Throughout the early '50s, he was an active sideman at Birdland, where he backed such artists as Getz, Terry Gibbs, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and many others. "Miles (Davis), Art Blakely . I learned something from each one of them," Silver states.
"The guys who concentrated on the small combo, there all gone," said Silver, citing the passing of Blakely, Miles, Dizzy Gillespi, and Cannonball Adderly. "Older cats with a wealth of experience, there aren't too many of us left," Silver continues. "Jimmy (Greene) told me I'm gonna pick your brain' and I said, 'Great! It's yours to pick.' I'm glad to help these guys."
review
With A Prescription For The Blues, 69-year-old pianist Horace Silver proves he's writing and playing as well as — if not better than — he did over four decades ago. But mere stamina is no reason to appreciate this terrific remedy of first-rate bop-n-blues. The "hard bop grandpop" has assembled a classy all-star lineup, reuniting with Michael and Randy Brecker (their last time together was on Silver's 1972 album In Pursuit of the 27th Man ) and adding one-time associates Ron Carter on bass and Louis Hayes on drums.
This superb quintet, Silver's most ideal format, evidences truly outstanding playing from both Breckers (it's always great hearing how well these two play together). Silver, too, sounds like a cat half his age, offering meaty solos that combine clever lines finessed with jaunty blues chords. His music, which conveys instead of preaches his holistic values, is never less than memorable (easy-to-follow lyrics to each tune are printed on the disc's booklet, though no one actually sings here). It's all fairly indistinguishable from one of his mid-sixties Blue Note records (except for Michael Brecker's easily recognizable contemporary sound).
But highlights abound; choice cuts include the catchy "A Prescription For The Blues," the funky "You Gotta Shake That Thing," the bop-eration of "Doctor Jazz" and a strong trio reading of "Brother John and Brother Gene" (dedicated to Silver's two departed brothers). Truth is, there's not a dud to be found here. Best of all, A Prescription For The Blues reveals the unique timelessness of Horace Silver's music (the recently issued compilation Opus de Funk: The Jazz Giants Play Horace Silver (Prestige) is a terrific testament to how universal and well-loved Silver's music is too). Recommended. |
