Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver, born on September 2, 1928 in Norwalk, Connecticut) is a famous jazz pianist and composer born to a Cape Verdean father (of mixed Portuguese-black descent) and a mother of Irish and African descent. 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. Silver began his career as a saxophonist, but later switched to piano. His playing was highly influenced by the style of Bud Powell. Silver was discovered in a Hartford, Connecticut 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 hard bop quintet, at first featuring the same lineup as Blakey's Jazz Messengers, with 18-year-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 assembled a new band. This one featured Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone and Carmell Jones on trumpet; this quintet recorded one of the best-known albums by Silver - Song for My Father. When Jones left, the trumpet spot was filled by a young Woody Shaw. 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Motto: The Right Place, The Right Time Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut Coordinates: Counties Fairfield County Mayor Dick Moccia Area    - City 36. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Cover from album by Bud Powell. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Hard bop is an extension of bebop (bop) music which incorporates influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano playing. ... Gospel music may refer either to the religious music that first came out of African-American churches in the 1930s or, more loosely, to both black gospel music and to the religious music composed and sung by white southern Christian artists. ... Africa is a large and diverse continent, consisting of dozens of countries, hundreds of languages and thousands of races, tribes and ethnic groups. ... Latin American music, sometimes simply called Latin music, includes the music of many countries and comes in many varieties, from the simple, rural conjunto music of northern Mexico to the sophisticated habanera of Cuba, from the symphonies of Heitor Villa-Lobos to the simple and moving Andean flute. ... Earl Rudolph Bud Powell (September 27, 1924 - July 31, 1966) is widely regarded as one of the most technically gifted and influential pianists in the history of jazz. ... Nickname: The Insurance Capital of the World Location in Hartford County, Connecticut Coordinates: ) Counties Hartford County Mayor Eddie Perez Area    - City 18. ... Stan Getz Stanley Getz, better known as Stan Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz musician. ... Arthur (Art) Blakey, also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. ... Curly Russell (19th March 1917 - 3rd July 1986) was an American jazz musician, who played bass on many bebop recordings. ... Percy Heath, (April 30, 1923 – April 28, 2005), was a jazz musician, most famous for his 40+ years as the double bass player for the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ). ... Clifford Brown: Memorial Album on Blue Note Records. ... Lou Donaldson (born November 1, 1926) is a jazz alto saxophonist. ... McKinley Howard (Kenny) Dorham (August 30, 1924 - December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer. ... Henry (Hank) Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist. ... Born,May 31, 1937 in Detroit, MI A superior hard bop drummer who has led many groups of his own, Louis Hayes led a band in Detroit as a teenager and was with Yusef Lateef during 1955-1956. ... Richard Allen (Blue) Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979) was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter. ... Born Jul 22, 1934 in Pensacola, FL Died Feb 3, 1992 in New York, NY An expert hard bop tenor saxophone player, Junior Cook was always a solid improviser. ... Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 - June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... Song for My Father is a 1964 album by the Horace Silver Quintet, released on the Blue Note label. ... Woody Herman Shaw II (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American trumpeter and flugelhorn player. ...

During the sixties, the Silver bands merged hard bop with soul and R&B. Silver's compositions, catchy and 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 does not record often. Randy Brecker (b. ...

Selected compositions

• Doodlin'
• The Preacher
• Nica's Dream
• Opus de Funk
• Safari
• Senor Blues
• Sister Sadie
• Blowin' the Blues Away
• Song For My Father
• Quicksilver
• The Dragon Lady
• Nutville
• Horacescope
• Ecaroh

Quotations

• "What is jazz music but another language?"

External links

• Horace Silver at the Hard Bop Home Page
• Horace Silver entry at the Jazz Discography Project
• Horace Silver at the All Music Guide