Street Art by Steph Goralnick
More on Steph Goralnick (Instagram)
2010
Peinture murale, projet au Musée d’art contemporain de San Diego, organisé par Pedro Alonzo, réalisé par OSGEMEOS (São Paulo, Brasil).
More Streetart.
December 1964: Song for My Father by Horace Silver (1928 – 2014) is released.
Song for My Father is an album by The Horace Silver Quintet, released on the Blue Note label. It is his tribute to his dad, who for many years, had suggested that his son arrange and adapt some Cape Verdean folk music to jazz. However, at the time, Silver seemingly found this folk music uninteresting.
When invited by Sergio Mendes in Rio de Janeiro during the Carnival, Silver became fascinated with the bossa nova and the new melodic-rhythmic possibilities inherent in folk music. This trip to Brazil appears to have given Silver the initial inspiration to compose Song for My Father :
« I was very much impressed by the authentic bossa nova beat the real bossa nova feeling, which I’ve tried to incorporate into this number.«
(1964 – liner notes)
« …a 1964 album by the Horace Silver Quintet, released on the Blue Note label. The album was inspired by a trip that Silver had made to Brazil. The cover artwork features a photograph of Silver’s father, John Tavares Silver, to whom the title song was dedicated. « My mother was of Irish and Negro descent, my father of Portuguese origin. He was born on the island of Maio, one of the Cape Verde Islands. »
~ Horace Silver, quoted in Leonard Feather’s original liner notes
« Jazz is not background music. You must concentrate upon it in order to get the most of it. You must absorb most of it. The harmonies within the music can relax, soothe and uplift the mind when you concentrate upon and absorb it. Jazz music stimulates the minds and uplifts the souls of those who play it was well as of those who listen to immerse themselves in it. As the mind is stimulated and the soul uplifted, this is eventually reflected in the body. »
~ Horace Silver
The cover artwork features a photograph of Silver’s father, John Tavares Silva, to whom the title song was dedicated. « My mother was of Irish and Negro descent, my father of Portuguese origin », Silver recalls in the liner notes, « He was born on the island of Maio, one of the Cape Verde Islands. »
Horace Silver — piano
Carmell Jones — trumpet
Joe Henderson — tenor saxophone
Teddy Smith — bass
Roger Humphries — drums
Horace Silver — piano
Blue Mitchell — trumpet
Junior Cook — tenor saxophone
Gene Taylor — bass
Roy Brooks — drums
Recorded on October 31, 1963 (#3, 6, 7, 8); January 28, 1964 (#9-10); October 26, 1964 (#1, 2, 4, 5).
One of Blue Note’s greatest mainstream hard bop dates, Song for My Father is Horace Silver’s signature LP and the peak of a discography already studded with classics. Silver was always a master at balancing jumping rhythms with complex harmonies for a unique blend of earthiness and sophistication, and Song for My Father has perhaps the most sophisticated air of all his albums. Part of the reason is the faintly exotic tint that comes from Silver’s flowering fascination with rhythms and modes from overseas — the bossa nova beat of the classic « Song for My Father, » for example, or the Eastern-flavored theme of « Calcutta Cutie, » or the tropical-sounding rhythms of « Que Pasa? » Subtle touches like these alter Silver’s core sound just enough to bring out its hidden class, which is why the album has become such a favorite source of upscale ambience. Song for My Father was actually far less focused in its origins than the typical Silver project; it dates from the period when Silver was disbanding his classic quintet and assembling a new group, and it features performances from both bands (and, on the CD reissue with bonus tracks, three different sessions). Still, it hangs together remarkably well, and Silver’s writing is at its tightest and catchiest. The title cut became Silver’s best-known composition, partly because it provided the musical basis for jazz-rock group Steely Dan’s biggest pop hit « Rikki Don’t Lose That Number. » Another hard bop standard is introduced here in the lone non-Silver tune, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson’s « The Kicker, » covered often for the challenge of its stuttering phrases and intricate rhythms. Yet somehow it comes off as warm and inviting as the rest of the album, which is necessary for all jazz collections — mainstream hard bop rarely comes as good as Song for My Father.
Steve Huey, allmusic
All compositions by Horace Silver, except where noted.
« Song for My Father » – 7:17
« The Natives Are Restless Tonight » – 6:09
« Calcutta Cutie » – 8:31
« Que Pasa » – 7:47
« The Kicker » (Joe Henderson) – 5:26
« Lonely Woman » – 7:02
« Sanctimonious Sam » (Musa Kaleem) – 3:52
« Que Pasa (Trio Version) » – 5:38
« Sighin’ and Cryin' » – 5:27
« Silver Treads Among My Soul » – 3:50