Horace Silver: Cool Eyes
Musicians:
Horace Silver (piano), Donald Byrd (trumpet), Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Doug Watkins (bass), Louis Hayes (drums).
Composed by Horace Silver
.Recorded: Hackensack, NJ, November 10, 1956
Rating: 89/100 (learn more)
Six Pieces of Silver marks the hard-bop pianist’s arrival as a legitimate bandleader and bop composer. Assembled from most of the 1956 Jazz Messengers (all except Hayes were in Blakey’s group), the record is filled with well-received tunes, especially “Senor Blues” and “Cool Eyes.” While “Senor Blues” may have been the most popular track, “Cool Eyes,” the quintet’s set closer, is chosen here to represent Silver’s compositional skills. Note the “variation-on-a-theme” aspect of the intricate melody, and the “eight-bar unison interludes” that connect the solos, as pointed out by Leonard Feather in the original liner notes. Excellent composition and performance.
Reviewer: Eric Novod
Other reviews for this track:
- Horace Silver: Cool Eyes by Bill Kirchner (94/100)
Tags: 1950s jazz · blue note · hard bop
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