Happy Birthday, Horace Silver

September 2 is the birthday of Horace Silver, whom Len Lyons referred to as one of the "founding fathers of funky hard bop." Jazz critic Chris Kelsey agrees, noting that "it is clear that few jazz musicians have had a greater impact on the contemporary mainstream than Horace Silver."

Silver was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1928 and was influenced by the Cape Verdean folk music of his Portuguese-born father as well as gospel and Latin American music.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Silver's album, Doin' the Thing: At the Village Gate (Blue Note), which can be purchased from Amazon.com.

Silver's autobiography, Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty: The Autobiography of Horace Silver is also available from Amazon.com.

Silver plays one of his best-known compositions, "Song for My Father," here:

Robert
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