Horace Silver - Song For My Father [180g, Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series] (LP) Vinyl

Song For My Father is the album that gave Horace Silver his best-known composition and remains one of Blue Note's most recognisable hard bop records. It was originally issued on Blue Note in 1964 as BST 84185, produced by Alfred Lion and recorded by Rudy Van Gelder at his studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

The Album

The record catches Silver's quintet mid-transition. Four of the six tracks come from a session on 26 October 1964 with the new line-up of Carmell Jones on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Teddy Smith on bass and Roger Humphries on drums. "Calcutta Cutie" dates from an earlier date on 31 October 1963 with the outgoing group of Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, Gene Taylor and Roy Brooks, and "Lonely Woman" is a piano trio performance with Taylor and Brooks.

The title piece was inspired by a trip Silver had made to Brazil, and the composition is dedicated to his father. The sleeve photograph is of John Tavares Silver, taken by Francis Wolff, with the cover laid out by Reid Miles. In Leonard Feather's original liner notes Silver describes his father as having been born on Maio, one of the Cape Verde Islands. Five of the six compositions are Silver's own; "The Kicker" was written by Joe Henderson.

This Pressing

This is the Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series edition. The stereo master was cut from the original analogue tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, and the record is pressed on 180 gram vinyl at Optimal Media in Germany. It is a single LP, catalogue number 0744043, barcode 0602507440435.

Tracklist

Side 1

1. Song For My Father (7:17)
2. The Natives Are Restless Tonight (6:09)
3. Calcutta Cutie (8:31)

Side 2

1. Que Pasa (7:47)
2. The Kicker (5:26)
3. Lonely Woman (7:02)