Horace Silver Six Pieces Of Silver( 180g vinyl LP) (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series )

Release date:   19-11-2021 ( 1956 )

2021 EU reissue 180g vinyl LP - Blue Note's Classic vinyl Series

At 27 years, Horace Silver’s tenure as a Blue Note recording artist was the longest of any artist in the history of the label. The legendary pianist and composer cut his first Blue Note session Horace Silver Trio in 1952 and his session for Silver ‘N Strings Play The Music of the Spheres was the very last recording date before the label went dormant in 1979. In between, Silver recorded some of the most beloved albums in the Blue Note catalog, traversing bebop, hard bop, soul jazz, and charting his own path through the 1970s fusion movement. With his 1956 album 6 Pieces of Silver, Silver struck gold with a sterling set of hard bop that introduced one of his greatest compositions, “Señor Blues.” The indelible theme is one of five excellent Silver originals (plus the standard “For Heaven’s Sake”) performed by an ace quintet featuring Donald Byrd on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Doug Watkins on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. Other highlights include the hard swinging opener “Cool Eyes,” the stunning ballad “Shirl,” the intricate stop-start rhythm of “Camouflage,” and the beguiling Latin beat of “Enchantment.”

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Tracks
A1: Cool Eyes
A2: Shirl
A3: Camouflage
A4: Enchantment

B1: Senor Blues
B2: Virgo
B3: For Heaven's Sake

Six Pieces of Silver is one of Horace Silvers best albums of the 1950s. Simply put any Silver session recorded before 1964s Song for My Father and featuring Hank Mobley on tenor is essential.

This one was made in 1956 the year that found Silver on an unprecedented tear the sublime Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers on Columbia the delicately shaded and varied Silvers Blue on Epic and the latinflavored Six Pieces of Silver on Blue Note with three versions of Horaces hit Senor Blues. Though the latter suffers from some of the overly arranged formulaic sameness of Song for My Father, its complemented by seven additional gemlike Silver miniatures each affording more room for expressive solo work than the tightly wound main attraction. Finally the two Silver trio selections Shirl and For Heavens Sakerank among the pianists most effective solo offerings.