Horace Silver
Horace Silver (1928–2014) was an American jazz pianist and composer who helped define hard bop, writing catchy, groove-led themes drawn from gospel, blues, Latin music and R&B.
His best-known album, Song for My Father, still stands as a signature statement, and pieces such as the ballad Peace and the hard-bop staple Nica’s Dream remain fixtures far beyond his own bands.
At the piano he favoured clear, often humorous right-hand lines over a darker left-hand rumble, putting melody ahead of dense harmony. As a bandleader he shaped the classic hard-bop quintet of tenor, trumpet, piano, bass and drums into a long-running workshop for younger players.
After nearly three decades with Blue Note he issued music on his own labels and later returned to major labels, but it is the songbook that keeps his name in the repertoire.
Compositions by Horace Silver appear on
From Within
Move's ARIA-nominated jazz duo returns to the studio for a long-awaited second album. The repertoire ranges further than before, lifting the energy of the spirited pieces and deepening the expression of the gentler ones.
Now and Then
Although he first came to prominence on the jazz scene a half century ago, Ornette Coleman still scares people. But his compositions, rooted as they were in classic blues, have long appealed to jazz listeners of every stripe.
About Time
Drummer Mark Lockett's debut About Time gathers a strong Melbourne jazz front line for modern standards and one original, telling fresh stories in the spirit of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.