Horace Silver And The Jazz Messengers

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For some four decade, the Jazz Messengers name was inextricably linked to drummer Art Blakey, who broke successive generations of new talent in a band that functioned as a gigging conservatory. But it was the first Messengers pianist, Horace Silver, who debuted the group under his own name in 1954, issuing two 10-inch records called <i>Horace Silver Quintet</i> before this 1956 set brought all the music together on one 12-inch LP. <i>Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers</i> stands as the immortal unit’s very first foray, consisting entirely of Silver originals save for the modern uptempo bop vehicle “Hankerin’,” by the band’s tenor saxophonist, Hank Mobley. It was the first of Silver’s Blue Note 1500s (catalog number 1518), followed by <i>Horace Silver Trio</i>, <i>6 Pieces of Silver</i>, <i>The Stylings of Silver</i>, and <i>Further Explorations</i> (not to mention his sideman work in the 1500 series with Miles Davi, Sonny Rollin, Paul Chamber, and more). Mobley and trumpeter Kenny Dorham burrow deep inside Silver’s tune, each one a model of harmonic subtlety mixed with soulful, funky rhythm that became the foundation of the hard bop genre. But Silver explored the full range of what hard bop could be, from the ultra-slow crawl of “Creepin’ In” to the odd melodic construction and quasi-Latin bridge of “To Whom It May Concern” to the fast-gliding leadoff swing of “Room 608.” Silver’s pianism, thoroughly modern in conception, still accessed a rough, loose energy reminiscent of boogie-woogie (his solo on “Hippy” is a strong example). And Blakey, soon to take over the Messengers’ leadership, could surge to the foreground at any moment for a crushing drum solo, as on “Hankerin’” and “Stop Time.” .

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