Blue Notes and New Notes From a Longtime Player

Horace Silver still has such a youthful look and such a playful manner that it’s hard to believe that the pianist-composer will be 71 on Sept. 2. Equally remarkable is his tenure as a major jazz figure for five decades, virtually since his first appearance on the scene in 1950 as a member of Stan Getz’s rhythm section, and that he continues to produce eminently appealing jazz.

In 1952, two years after his seminal experience with Getz and subsequent gigs with the likes of Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Lou Donaldson and others, Silver signed with Blue Note Records, kicking off a relationship that would result in extraordinarily productive results until he left the label in 1979 (a period exceeding any other artist’s tenure with the company). Next week, in celebration of both the long-term relationship as well as Blue Note’s yearlong 60th anniversary, the company is releasing “Horace Silver: The Blue Note Retrospective” (****, Blue Note), a four-CD boxed set with 45 tracks chronicling many of the highlights in his long run at the label.

Amazingly, Silver’s style--a convincing amalgam of bop, blues, funk, gospel and the Cape Verdean rhythms and melodies he heard as a child--is present in his earliest work. His first album, for example, included the now-classic tunes “Opus De Funk” and “Ecaroh,” both included here. Other remarkable pieces followed in fast profusion, among them “The Preacher,” “Doodlin’,” “Sister Sadie,” “Nica’s Dream,” “Song for My Father,” “Filthy McNasty” and “Senor Blues,” to name only a few. (All are included in the boxed set.)

Not until the fourth CD does the quality level shift somewhat as Silver’s emerging interest in inspirational ideas becomes an important element in his musical choices. The result is a set of tunes with titles such as “How Much Does Matter Really Matter” and instrumentation that adds woodwinds, etc., to his basic lineup. Even here, however, the Silver magic is sustained via his melodic inventiveness and the persistently infectious, foot-tapping rhythms inherent in his playing.

The collection also underscores Silver’s vital role in the emergence of hard bop (one of his earliest albums, “Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers” was a co-outing with Art Blakey, producing “Doodlin’ ” and “The Preacher”). And it confirms his constant awareness of new talent. The list of players moving through his various groups--including Hank Mobley, Clifford Jordan, Joe Henderson, Michael Brecker, Donald Byrd, Kenny Dorham, Art Farmer, Tom Harrell, Doug Watkins and Louis Hayes, among numerous others--reads like an unfolding list of all-stars.

Silver’s music, with its buoyant, catchy melodies and accessible rhythms, was not always praised by critics of the ‘50s and ‘60s, who often used the term “soul jazz” to pigeonhole it in a kind of pop-jazz category. In retrospect, the music clearly demanded more careful evaluation. Like Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington, Silver knew that jazz could be both creatively challenging and emotionally pleasing.

And it’s an awareness that reaches into his current work. Silver’s latest album, “Jazz Has a Sense of Humor” (*** 1/2, Verve), links past with present. The very first track, “Satisfaction Guaranteed,” has the trademark Silver combination of catchy melody, funky atmosphere and surging rhythm. Other pieces, especially the three-part “Mama Suite,” resonate with the sounds of the Jazz Messengers. And Silver has included three playful relationship-inspired numbers: “Philley Millie,” “I Love Annie’s Fanny” and the Latin-tinged “Gloria.”

Typically, he has once again gathered together a superb young band, this time featuring trumpeter Ryan Kisor, saxophonist Jimmy Greene, bassist John Webber and drummer Willie Jones III. Nearly 50 years after he first defined his style, Silver continues to find it a rich source of jazz that is filled with a spirit that sings. He and his music are one of a kind. *

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).