"The release of this LP by the Horace Silver quintet has more significance than might appear on the surface; for although Horace's career on records in general and on Blue Note in particular has covered a broad area of styles, performances and groups, this is the first time he has ever been able to present, and present with pride, a permanently-formed combo of his own.
"There are many of us who felt that this step was long overdue, not only in terms of his talent, but also on the strength of his personality. His mild manner, pleasant speaking voice and clean living habits seemed to equip Horace for the role of leader, and if the reaction of night club owners in recent months is any yardstick, he didn't start a moment too soon.
"Since this is, then, a milestone in the Silver career, it might be advisable to pause and recapitulate briefly the biographical backgrounds of each member of the quintet as it is heard on these sides, since the writers of liner notes tend too often to take for granted a knowledge of all these facts on the part of the fan.
"The leader was born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver in 1928 in Norwalk, Conn. After saxophone studies in high school and private piano lessons, he played gigs around Connecticut on both tenor and piano. It was after Stan Getz heard him in Hartford that he was hired to tour with the Getz quartet, staying with the group for a year in 1950-51. Settling in New York City, he worked frequently during the next year with Art Blakey, as well as with combos led by Terry Gibbs, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Bill Harris and others. From then until he formed his own group, he was most frequently a part of the Jazz Messengers.
"Hank Mobley, Horace's tenor man, was born in Eastman, Georgia in 1930, but was raised in New Jersey. After working with rhythm and blues groups until 1950, he jobbed mostly with Max Roach from 1951-53, spent several months with the Gillespie group in '54 and since then has been with Horace, first in the Jazz Messengers and now in the Silver quintet.
"Donald Byrd, Horace's trumpeter on this date, was born in Detroit in 1932, the son of a Methodist minister who was also a musician. He studied at Cass Tech High, Wayne University and Manhattan School of Music. After serving in the Air Force from 1951-53 and then working with local groups, he came to New York and played with George Wallington's group and Blakey's Messenger in 1955.
"Twenty-two-year-old Doug Watkins, also a Cass Tech man from Detroit, was schoolmate of Byrd and of bassist Paul Chmabers, who is his cousin by marriage. Leaving home with James Moody in '53, he settled in New York in August, 1954 and gigged mostly with the men in and around the Messengers.
"Louis Hayes, Horace's talented young drummer, is only 18 years old and is also a Detroiter; he replaced Art Taylor on very short notice in this group, and according to those of us who have heard him at Birdland and on other gigs, he shows signs of becoming a big name before too long.
"With the exception of one standard tune, the music heard on this first session by Horace's new group consisted entirely of Silver originals. 'Cool Eyes' is a swinging opener; notice the interesting use of the double augmented effect at the 23rd bar of the theme. The performances lend an extra sense of construction in that the solos are tied together by eight-bar unison interludes. Mobley, Byrd and Horace have extended solo space and Watkins walks a while. After the closing ensemble, in which the piano plays unison along with the horns, the last phrase is repeated effectively in descending keys.
"'Shirl', named for a young female friend, is a piano solo with rhythm, pensive and delicate, striking a sort of 'Stella by Starlight' mood.
"'Camouflage' has an unusual device in the rhyhthm pauses during the solo, as a result of which it seems to swing as much as anything in the album, yet in a slightly different way. Hank, Horace and Donald are featured in that order.
"'Enchantment' is an exotic theme that demonstrates how much can be extracted from the use of two-part harmony. Notice the use of an unorthodox Latin beat in which the third eighth not is left open; Louis Hayes's use of mallets; Horace's employment of octaves and other devices not typical of him.
"'Señor Blues' is, for this listener at least, the most exciting of the seven performances on these sides. Set in a minor key with the horns voiced, it is in a triple time, which Horace describes as 6/8, though I would be inclined to call it 12/8. The performance is full of tricky rhythmic and counter-rhythmic effects. When piano solo time arrives, the rhythm changes again and of this time signature Horace confesses, 'I don't know what you call that!' (We call it fine and funky.) Both in its solos and in the ensemble approach, this is a striking demonstration of the degree of originality to which the twelve-bar motif can be stretched.
"'Virgo', named for the sign under which Horace was born, is a fast unison theme in which the solos again are spelled by eight-measure interludes. Horace, on his solo here, is a fluent as a pianistic Charlie Parker. Louis Hayes, after trading fours with the horns, has a long solo, and there is a suddent bop-style ending.
"'For Heaven's Sake', a popular song of a few years ago, is given the same brand of treatment as 'Shirl', a piano solo in a pleasantly relaxed ballad mood.
"It need hardly be pointed out in conclusion that this record debut by the new Silver quintet augers a successful future for Horace as a leader. Assuming the main ingredients of success are talent, ambition and luck, it can safely be said that Horace is already two-thirds of the way there." (Leonard Feather. From the liner notes.)
Performers: Horace Silver (pi), Donald Byrd (tp), Hank Mobley (t-sx), Doug Watkins (bs), Louis Hayes (dr)
A1. Cool Eyes
A2. Shirl
A3. Camouflage
A4. Enchantment
B1. Señor Blues
B2. Virgo
B3. For Heaven's Sake
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