Search - Horace Silver :: Cape Verdean Blues

A most underrated Album. One of Horace's Best. One of Joe He

Frizzante | 03/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Take note of the previous two reviews!



Both 5 stars. So is my rating. 5 big stars.



From start to finish this is an exceptionally smooth album. It just rolls along transporting you to a very upbeat and cool place. The beautiful rhythm of Horace's piano, the dexterity and speed of Joe Henderson's tenor and the brilliance of Woody Shaw's trumpet are captivating. I normally find the trombone overbearing and out of place but JJ Johnson is absolutely wonderful on this fabulous album.



Much as I enjoy the Horace's better known albums, this is my favourite.



You will not regret buying this album."

Horace Cooks Again

Neo-beatnik | 04/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I started listening to Silver after hearing his "Best of" compilation off of Blue Note. Tunes like "Sister Sadie" and his work with the Jazz Messengers(I think he penned "Blues March" with them) really caught my ear. He was so bluesy for a jazz pianist!! And his sound; it's got such a gospel vibe to it. Sometimes when I listen to his solos, I can just visualize a country gospel church somewhere in the South with a preacher leading a choir with the congregation jumping!



"Blowin' the Blues Away", another RVG reissue, is a great album, but "Cape Verdean Blues" is just as good. Except for the title track, "Cape Verdean Blues" isn't all latin tinged. Silver writes in the liner notes that Cape Verdean are islands off the coast of Portugal, where his father was from. So there is that world folk element in the title track, but the most of the album is straight Blue Note '60s hardbop. The track "African Queen" is bluesy, but you can hear African folk music in the drum work and the bass line. Probably my favorite on the whole album.



With the horn line-up on this album, you can't go wrong. J.J. Johnson, trumpeter Woody Shaw, and Joe Henderson were jazz titans and still are. They create some rich melodies and great harmonies together over Silver's playing.



Check this album out if you like the Blue Note sound from the mid-'60s"

Horace further explores his roots in a modal vein

Dennis W. Wong | 03/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When most people refer to Horace Silver's best quintet, they usually mean the one with Blue Mitchell & Junior Cook but disregard his later groups such as this one featuring the talents of 2 forward looking musicians, Joe Henderson and Woody Shaw. Due to this personnel, the tunes here tend to be more in the modal vein but the Silver style/standard is still maintained. Two of the tunes here became a staple in the Buddy Rich band, "Nutsville" and the title tune. An added plus is the addition of former teammate, JJ Johnson, who employed Horace on some of his early Blue Note dates. The remastering is excellent and if you're a Silver fanatic, you won't be disappointed by this under-rated album at all!!"