Taking in
Horace Silver's fertile '50s stretch (volume two covers the '60s), this Blue Note best-of disc is the perfect introductory set for listeners new to the hard bop giant. One of the first of the soul-jazz innovators (listen to that gospel-fired left hand and all that dancefloor-friendly material),
Silver also wrote some of the most original cuts of the period and -- like
Art Blakey -- provided a home for many of the best young players of the era. In fact,
Silver headed up the first incarnation of the Jazz Messengers with
Blakey, some of the fruits of which are heard here ("Preachin'," "Doodlin'," "Room 608"). Moving on to such classic LPs as
Six Pieces of Silver ("Cool Eyes," "Senor Blues") and
Blowin' the Blues Away ("Peace," "Sister Sadie"),
Silver delivers some of the most sophisticated modern swing around with help from the likes of
Hank Mobley,
Junior Cook,
Donald Byrd,
Blue Mitchell,
Doug Watkins, and
Louis Hayes. A jazz primer with plenty of memorable tunes to boot. ~ Stephen Cook