Last Friday afternoon, as I came in from the afternoon sun following a grueling round of golf in Florida, I gathered around the pool area with my companions for a cool drink and a late lunch. There were probably 25-30 people gathered in the mix of sun and shadows, enjoying a perfect late winter warm and relaxing afternoon. I mean this in the most complimentary fashion possible, today’s album “Song For My Father”, by jazz pianist Horace Silver and his quintet, would have been the absolutely perfect soundtrack to be played live by the pool. Rated #9 on gq.com’s Top 100 Jazz albums of all time, this is the polar opposite of John Coltrane’s heart-racing, intense exploration.
This is relaxed, this is chill, this is cool. The title track opens the album, with a bass line that had to inspire Steely Dan’s “Rikki Don’t Lose My Number”. The quintet features a trumpet, saxophone, bass and drums, and although it probably seems terribly cliché, I would have loved to have these five guys serenade the rising moon as it chased the sun across the night sky. An hour in total content, most songs follow a similar feel, although the last song, “Silver Treads Among the Soul”, starts with a trumpet lead that picks up the pace for the album finale.
I have said many times that music is about mood, settings, feelings, location, and environment. This album is the perfect accompaniment to that relaxed moment at the end of whatever you did that day, as you gather with those you cherish to catch up on what is behind you, and what lies ahead of you. I think I will call this “transition jazz”, as I think it is perfect to say goodbye to the day and hello to the night. Another great find on my road down the undiscovered (for me) world of jazz music.
A Lifetime-Plus of Music 