Horace Silver
Piano
June 18, 2014 (Age 85) died
September 2, 1928 Birthday
Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S. Birthplace
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About
Horace Silver was a jazz pianist and pioneer of the hard bop style in the 1950s & 1960s. He contributed significant compositions to the jazz cannon including "The Preacher" and "Song For My Father." Silver hit the New York jazz scene in 1951 and two years later he co-founded the highly influential Jazz Messengers with Art Blakey. By 1956 he had left the Messengers and went on to lead a series of quintets with notable jazz players including Art Farmer, Joe Henderson and Michael Brecker. Silver released 36 albums as leader and appears as a sideman on notable recordings by Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Lee Morgan and others. Silver continued to work through the 1990s and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2007. He died of natural causes in 204 at the age of 85.
Trivia
Horace Silver was named an NEA Jazz Master in 1995. Horace Silver recorded exclusively for Blue Note Records until the late 1970s when he left to form his own label called Silveto. Horace Silver's autobiography, "Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty" was published in 2006.
Early Life
Horace Silver was born in Connecticut in 1928. He was exposed to music at an early age, initially hearing the Cape Verde Islands folk music his father enjoyed. Silver began playing the piano in childhood and in high school he played both the piano and tenor saxophone. Silver began taking local gigs while still in school and his big break came in 1950 when a gig backing guest soloist Stan Getz led to an invitation to join Getz on tour. In 1951 Silver moved to New York and soon was playing with top artists including Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and Oscar Pettiford.
Horace Silver Solos
1960
Piano solo - Strollin' - 1960
4/4 swing in D♭ major at 138 BPM
Piano solo - Where You At? - 1960
4/4 swing in A♭ major at 290 BPM
Piano solo - Without You - 1960
3/4 ballad in E♭ minor at 63 BPM
Piano solo - Horace-Scope - 1960
4/4 swing in D♭ major at 203 BPM
Piano solo - Yeah! - 1960
4/4 swing in E♭ major at 294 BPM
Piano solo - Me And My Baby - 1960
4/4 swing in A♭ major at 167 BPM
Piano solo - Nica's Dream - 1960
4/4 latin in B♭ minor at 260 BPM
1957
Piano solo - No Smokin' - 1957
4/4 swing in B♭ minor at 298 BPM
Piano solo - The Back Beat - 1957
4/4 swing in E♭ major at 183 BPM
Piano solo - Soulville - 1957
4/4 swing in B♭ minor at 115 BPM
Piano solo - Home Cookin' - 1957
4/4 swing in F major at 146 BPM
Piano solo - Metamorphosis - 1957
4/4 swing in D♭ major at 213 BPM
Piano solo - My One And Only Love - 1957
4/4 ballad in C major at 58 BPM
1954
Piano solo - Walkin' - 1954
4/4 swing in F major at 127 BPM
Piano solo - Blue 'n' Boogie - 1954
4/4 swing in B♭ major at 275 BPM
Piano solo - Solar - 1954
4/4 swing in C minor at 168 BPM
Piano solo - Love Me or Leave Me - 1954
4/4 swing in A♭ major at 282 BPM