Horace Silver Piano, Composer September 2, 1928 -- June 18, 2014

The Henderson Quintets

"But I've had a lot of good bands, you know. The band with Joe Henderson and Woody Shaw was a hell of a fine band."

--Horace Silver

In the spring of 1964, Horace Silver disbanded the quintet he had been leading without personnel changes for more than five years. A new Silver quintet made its debut in June of that year, and it is still new today. While tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and drummer Roger Humphries have been aboard from the start, trumpeter Woody Shaw is a fairly recent face, having replaced Carmell Jones this summer. And the bass spot was still open three weeks ago.

"I have two guys I like," Silver said, "and I'm trying them both out here at the Vanguard. I'm hiring one of them, but I still don't know which; I dig them both."

With this one remaining problem about to be solved, Silver has no doubts about his band. "I feel now that this is one of the best groups I've ever had," he said. "Everybody is really taking care of business. Joe Henderson is a future major name in jazz. He's playing so much horn now, when his time comes he'll be a major influence. And he's a fine composer too. The baddest young cat on tenor out here now."

As for Shaw, Silver said, "He's not as well known as Joe, who has been making his own records for a while, but is he talented! Only 20 years old, and full of beautiful fire, drive, imagination, and harmonic knowledge. I like him better than any other young trumpeter. He and Joe work so well together too. They really inspire each other."

Drummer Humphries gets his leader's blessings as well: "Another youngster--he's 21--he plays his butt off, has good technique, imagination, and swing. He's going to make his mark."

Silver said he feels enthusiastic when he goes to work with this group. "We stimulate each other," he explained. "If you can find young musicians who are top quality, it's a gas to give them a chance. Youth is full of vim, vitality, and vigor. It's like having a young wife; they want to show what they can do and are a little more co-operative. And it's good to have excellent musicians who are also nice guys and can get along with you and each other on the road."

--DAN MORGENSTERN,Downbeat, December 1965.

A selected discography of Horace Silver albums.

• Horace Silver Trio, 1952, Blue Note.
• The Jazz Messengers, 1954, Blue Note.
• Silver's Blue, 1956, Columbia.
• Finger Poppin', 1959, Blue Note.
• Blowin' The Blues Away, 1959, Blue Note.
• Horace-Scope, 1960, Blue Note.
• Doin' The Thing, 1961, Blue Note.
• Song For My Father, 1964, Blue Note.
• Cape Verdean Blues, 1965, Blue Note.
• The Hardbop Grandpop, 1996, Impulse!.
• Prescription for the Blues, 1998, Impulse!.

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