Jazz pianist Horace Silver, a founding father of hardbop and soul jazz and one of the most renowned figures of the post-World War II jazz scene, turns 80 on September 2, 2008. Many of his compositions, such as “Opus de Funk,” “The Preacher,” “Nica’s Dream,” and “Peace” have become jazz standards heard frequently today. “ The Horace Silver Songbook” features recordings by Art Blakey, Woody Herman, Art Farmer, Mark Murphy, Eddie Jefferson, Chet Baker, and Horace Silver himself, that exemplify the pianist’s catchy, soulful, and complex-yet-simple writing style, in celebration of his 80th birthday.
Read an early-1960s interview with Silver.
UPDATE: Over at Jazz.com, jazz historian Ted Gioia reflects on Silver, and musician/scholar Bill Kirchner offers a great rundown of 12 classic Silver compositions and recordings.
Watch Horace Silver in 1959 playing his composition “Senor Blues”:
Air date: August 30, 2008
would like to know the next time horace silver is coming to the philadelphia area???