Horace Silver in the 1970s

[Stereojack]

In order of release: Brass, Wood, Voices, Percussion, & Strings.

Just checked & "The Great American Indian Uprising" was the title of the suite on Side Two of Percussion. The individaul titles were "The Idols Of The Incas", :The Aztec Sun God", & "The Mohican & The Great Spirit".

Just listened to the first side of Voices, and it sounds like there's raw quintet tracks to be had by stripping away the overdubbed voices. Hmmmm....

This thread got me thinking about this series, most of which I hadn't listened to in years. so I played a side of "Silver 'n Wood" last night. Also checked the Blue Note discography concerning these sessions. Turns out that most of these dates were cut in New York (or New Jersey) as straight quintet sides, and then the horns/strings/voices were dubbed on at a later date, in Los Angeles! This accounts for the disconnect that one feels when listening to these records. The horns don't seem to be fully part of the process, but window dressing. In places I found it somewhat annoying that woodwind parts were added to enhance Horace's comping at the piano. And the sound! Boxy, flat, none of the sparkle and clarity that characterized the classic quintet sessions. Is George Butler responsible for the lousy production?

Still, I have to agree that there are some great tunes here, and if one can listen past the overdubbing and focus on what the quintet is playing, there is a wealth of fine compositions among these sessions. I wonder if the raw quintet tracks might still exist somewhere, and whether or not we might actually get to hear them someday?

I saw Horace live around the time that the last in the Siver And series came out (Silver And Strings - Music of the Spheres). He was leading a quintet, and he played several pieces from the new album. The quintet renditions totally kicked ass!

Who was in the band, Jack?

Front line was Barry Ries (tp), Ron Bridgewater (tenor), can't remember the bass and drums.

Recalling further, I believe Carl Burnett was the drummer.

[JSngry]

Is George Butler responsible for the lousy production?

Still, I have to agree that there are some great tunes here, and if one can listen past the overdubbing and focus on what the quintet is playing, there is a wealth of fine compositions among these sessions. I wonder if the raw quintet tracks might still exist somewhere, and whether or not we might actually get to hear them someday?

Yes, Dr. Death was the producer...snd you're reading my mind about what we might someday hope to get...