Funky Pieces Of Silver

Since the early 1950s, Horace Silver has been one of jazz's most distinctive pianists and composers. Several of his songs have become jazz standards. While Silver is in retirement as of this writing, fortunately he is able to enjoy knowing that his songs are regularly played by both his contemporaries and later generations of jazz musicians. This High Note CD reissues performances of Silver's songs that were recorded between 1997-2006 for records led by organist Charles Earland, tenor saxophonist Houston Person, organist Joey DeFrancesco, trumpeter Russell Gunn, and drummer Joe Chambers. While there is nothing previously unreleased on this CD, listeners who enjoy the works of Silver and do not own the complete High Note sets will find much to enjoy. The Charles Earland performances of "Sister Sadie," "Blowing the Blues Away," and "Strollin'" are particularly exciting and show once again why he was known as "The Mighty Burner." ~ Scott Yanow