Horace Silver Quintet & Trio Blowin' The Blues Away LP (Vinyl)

Newly Remastered for Blue Note 75th Anniversary Vinyl!

Horace Silver does not merely write beginnings and endings for the soloists to fill; he makes his compositions grow by introducing interludes and variations on the opening themes; his ballads have power and yet they are tender: these are some of the reasons that the Silver group does not point in a monochrome.

The music in this album is the best illustration of all the things I've said abuot the Horace Silver quintet. The seven numbers, all written by Horace, are excelent representations of his very large talent and the group plays them in the manner to which they have accustomed us.

"Blowin' the Blues Away is one of Horace Silver's all-time Blue Note classics, only upping the ante established on Finger Poppin' for tightly constructed, joyfully infectious hard bop. This album marks the peak of Silver's classic quintet with trumpeter Blue Mitchell, tenor saxophonist Junior Cook, bassist Gene Taylor, and drummer Louis Hayes; it's also one of the pianist's strongest sets of original compositions, eclipsed only by Song for My Father and Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers. The pacing of the album is impeccable, offering up enough different feels and slight variations on Silver's signature style to captivate the listener throughout. Two songs -- the warm, luminous ballad "Peace" and the gospel-based call-and-response swinger "Sister Sadie" -- became oft-covered standards of Silver's repertoire, and the madly cooking title cut wasn't far behind. And they embody what's right with the album in a nutshell -- the up-tempo tunes ("Break City") are among the hardest-swinging Silver had ever cut, and the slower changes of pace ("Melancholy Mood") are superbly lyrical, adding up to one of the best realizations of Silver's aesthetic. Also, two cuts ("Melancholy Mood" and the easy-swinging "The St. Vitus Dance") give Silver a chance to show off his trio chops, and "Baghdad Blues" introduces his taste for exotic, foreign-tinged themes. Through it all, Silver remains continually conscious of the groove, playing off the basic rhythms to create funky new time patterns. The typical high-impact economy of his and the rest of the band's statements is at its uppermost level, and everyone swings with exuberant commitment. In short, Blowin' the Blues Away is one of Silver's finest albums, and it's virtually impossible to dislike." - Allmusic.com

Features:
• Vinyl LP
• Re-mastered & reissued as part of the Blue Note 75th Anniversary campaign
• Includes special Blue Note 75 vinyl sleeve that features album cover art for 75 Blue Note Titles

Selections:
Side 1
1. Blowin' The Blues Away
2. The St. Vitus Dance
3. Break City
4. Peace
Side 2
1. Sister Sadie
2. Baghdad Blues
3. Melancholy Mood