Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers

[Guy Berger]

An interesting thing about the Silver & Jazz Messengers album is that Horace seems to use the same voicings for the horns as Ray Charles did a few months earlier in his December 1953 recording session in New Orleans, from which came his first hit to utilise Gospel forms, "Don't you know".

I don't think "Don't you know" had been released at the time of the first Silver & Jazz Mesengers session in February 1954, but I've often wondered whether Horace saw Ray performing the tune. Or whether their both using similar voicings and bringing in Gospel patterns was simply a coincidence deriving from the "spirit of the time".

The first session for this album was in December or November 1954. You might be confusing it with the Blakey Birdland date, which was recorded in February 1954.

Guy

Edited October 10, 2006 by Guy

[Big Al]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone have the 10" LPs of the Horace Silver Quintet who can provide the original running order of each LP? Might be fun to program the CD player to play in the order of the 10" LPs!

[sidewinder]

I've got copies of the original 10" Lex BLP 5058 and 5062 LPs (5062 signed by Horace). Track order is:

5058:

Side 1:

1. Room 608

2. Creepin' In

Side 2:

1. Doodlin'

2. Stop Time

5062:

Side 1:

1. Hippy

2. The Preacher

Side 2:

1. Hankerin'

2. To Whom It May Concern

[sidewinder]

The Horace trios were on BLP 5018 and BLP 5034 (Vols 1 and 2 respectively), which explains why the Quintet 10"s are labelled Vols 3 and 4.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

An interesting thing about the Silver & Jazz Messengers album is that Horace seems to use the same voicings for the horns as Ray Charles did a few months earlier in his December 1953 recording session in New Orleans, from which came his first hit to utilise Gospel forms, "Don't you know".

I don't think "Don't you know" had been released at the time of the first Silver & Jazz Mesengers session in February 1954, but I've often wondered whether Horace saw Ray performing the tune. Or whether their both using similar voicings and bringing in Gospel patterns was simply a coincidence deriving from the "spirit of the time".

The first session for this album was in December or November 1954. You might be confusing it with the Blakey Birdland date, which was recorded in February 1954.

Guy

You're right! So Horace would certainly have been listening to this Ray Charles stuff on the radio a few months before he recorded.

MG

[Big Al]

I've got copies of the original 10" Lex BLP 5058 and 5062 LPs (5062 signed by Horace). Track order is:

Thanks!!!

[mikeweil]

I remember reading in the liner notes to some Ray Charles Atlantic reissue that people like Blakey admired Ray's band. A small step towards Horace .....