Blue Note Reissue series
A classic set from Horace Silver – one in which his quintet is expanded by some great guest work from trombonist JJ Johnson! Johnson’s at the height of his 60s powers here – blowing with that lean, soulful style that always made any record sparkle – and although he’s only on half of the tracks on the date, his presence is more than worth the heavy billing he gets on the cover! Other great members of the group include Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor, and rhythm from Bob Cranshaw on bass and Roger Humphries on drums – all coming together with that wonderful 60s Silver groove. The set’s filled with sweetly grooving originals by Horace – a blueprint for the exotic style of soul jazz he helped to forge at the time – great writing all around, on titles that include “Mo Joe”, “Nutville”, “Bonita”, “The African Queen”, and “Pretty Eyes”. (courtesy of www.dustygroove.com)
Un classique de Horace Silver, dont le quintet est accompagné par le tromboniste JJ Johnson. Un Johnson, au sommet de sa forme, soufflant son style soulful si reconnaisable, et bien qu’il ne soit présent que sur la moitié des titres, on sent son influence sur l’ensemble de l’album. Les autres membres du groupe sont Woody Shaw à la trompette, Joe Henderson au Sax ténor et la section rythmique est tenue par Bob Cranshaw et Roger Humphries. On retrouve sur cet album les merveilleux groove du Silver 60’s, qui signe toutes les compositions, soul jazz comme d’habitude, mais teintées d’exotisme comme l’indique le titre.