AOW, Apr 26- May 2 Horace Silver, Doin' the Thing

[mikeweil]

I can't say that I like Horace's contributions all that much. His solos seem disjointed, to lack continuity and cohesion. There are lots of quotes and they basically sound like a lot of odd bits cobbled together, if that's not too strong. There's a long quote I think at the beginning of his solo on the third tune - is it "Delilah"? I know Horace is capable of much better than this. IMO this was on the whole one of his off nights. Spoils the album for me I'm afraid.

Seems like Silver took his time in the studio to perfect his solos, he's lively, but not very conscious of the piece's form/structure - harmonically, as far as the chord changes are concerned, yes, but not building tension over the whole form. Judging from his announcements, he wasn't so relaxed.

I agree on Blue Mitchell - one of the greatest hardbop trumpeters, and he plays his a.. off here. Amazing to hear his very personal mixture of lyricism and fire, much different than other trumpeters of his generation.

[tooter]

I happen to be a fan of quoters (and Horace was certainly fond of doing so) in general, but I don't get the feeling that Horace was struggling on this track. Anyway, just for fun, what do you guys hear? I don't hear "Delilah"... not sure I hear any "long" quote, either.

Jim - the track I meant was "The Gringo" but sure it's not "Delilah" that Horace quotes near the begining of his solo - sixteen bars. Still not sure what it is but it is very familiar.

I will have a go at "Kiss Me Right" quotes soon - perhaps I can do better there.

Are you a fan of Dexter with all his quotes then? I remember listening to a whole album - I think it was Gabe Baltazar - with not a single quote that I could identify until almost the very end when he put in that hoary old chestnut "In an English Country Garden". Only "Entry of the Gladiatiors" beats this.

[tooter]

happen to be a fan of quoters (and Horace was certainly fond of doing so) in general, but I don't get the feeling that Horace was struggling on this track. Anyway, just for fun, what do you guys hear? I don't hear "Delilah"... not sure I hear any "long" quote, either. Here's what I can pick out:

I wish I were in love again (sort of hints at it)

Joshua fit de battle of Jericho

Tempus Fugue-it (couldn't quite place it until I realized it was mentioned in the liner notes)

Oop-bop-sh'bam

Filthy McNasty

I thought the first might be "Undecided" but your "I wish" is more like it. Is there hint too of "It Ain't Necessarily So" soon after? Struggling but thought I could hear a bit of "Firm Roots" by Cedar Walton but this seems unlikely. I couldn't pick out any others but he plays quite a number of his own licks too.

[Jim R]

Jim - the track I meant was "The Gringo" but sure it's not "Delilah" that Horace quotes near the begining of his solo - sixteen bars. Still not sure what it is but it is very familiar.

Ah... I thought the third track was "kiss me right" (on my 1988 CD, the two bonus tracks are programmed 3rd and 4th, and "kiss me right" is 5th. I assumed it was originally 3rd.

Okay, on "the gringo" I do hear the familiar theme (kind of a sketch of it, actually) that Horace quotes at the beginning of his solo... a familiar latinesque hard bop thing... and I don't know what it is either... I like these brain-teasers, though- part of what makes quoting so appealing to me.

Are you a fan of Dexter with all his quotes then?

I think it's fair to say I'm notorious for being a Dexter fanatic. I probably have two (or three) times as many Dexter CD's as most normal people have CD's, period. There are a few guys here on the board who I think are catching up with me, though.

I've initiated a few "great quoters" threads on different jazz boards in the past... can't recall whether we've had one at Organissimo or not. Maybe I'll do a search. It's a bit of a controversial topic, as some folks dislike too much quoting- especially when it's done to the extreme, without any flair (cleverness, humor, etc). Even Dexter was probably guilty of that at times, but I generally eat it up anyway. B)

[tooter]

Okay, on "the gringo" I do hear the familiar theme (kind of a sketch of it, actually) that Horace quotes at the beginning of his solo... a familiar latinesque hard bop thing... and I don't know what it is either... I like these brain-teasers, though- part of what makes quoting so appealing to me.

Damn! I was relying on you! This mystery must be solved. I'll keep on till I find out what that tune is. "Lover" came to mind but it's not that. It's a waltz I think. Watch this space.

[tooter]

Jim - And the other tune that's going round in my head is "Temptation". What do you think? Is it that he's not playing the tune really, just alluding to it, whatever it is?