Horace Silver (September 2, 1928-June 18, 2014) passed away at the age of 85. He penned one of our favorite tunes, “Song For My Father”. A lot of our piano students have been learning it lately.
Steely Dan based their hit “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” on the bass riff that begins “Song For My Father”. Silver was known for combining jazz, blues, Latin & gospel to create his own unique sound.
Silver’s music has influenced other pianists, such as Ramsey Lewis, who, when speaking about Silver after his death, said, “Horace Silver was one of the hardest swinging piano players in jazz, both as a section player and a soloist… Moreover, he was one of the finest human beings that walked the earth.”
The saxophone, not piano, was Silver’s first instrument. With whatever instrument you play, where do you think your lessons will take you?
One thought on “Remembering Horace Silver”
I wanted to learn both as well but once I sattred guitar I was convinced that it would have been too much to concentrate on both so I put off the piano. Guitar kept getting more and more advanced I was doing concert material by age 11 and just never looked back. It is a mistake I regret till this day. my life is now soooo busy I just don’t have the time, energy nor the resources for equipment to learn today. However I am so grateful to have mastered at least one instrument. There is no greater rush than cranking out in front of a couple hundred or more people.Having a knowledge of music gives you an entirely different perspective and appreciation for music that somebody without that knowledge will ever experience. It’s hard to describe, you can listen to any type of music and it just goes straight to your heart because it’s amazing that people are capable of creating something so beautiful. I know that sounds a bit like, oh my god! gag me, but that’s the only sincere way I know how to describe it. Good luck and go for it.I don’t understand what some of these people are talking about when they say one is harder than the other. One thing I’ve learned it’s not about just hitting the notes and cords it’s about developing style, for example I can get hundreds of pitches and sounds out of one single note. You never stop learning different techniques or combinations. Otherwise it would get repetative and boring. There is no limitations to an instrument thats why music keeps changing and evolving. See what I mean about a whole nother perspective.