20th century american culture
20th century american music history
A01=Horace Silver
african american culture
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american composer
american jazz pianist
american music history
art blakey
artists
Author_Horace Silver
autobiography
bandleader
bands
bebop
blues
bop music
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charlie parker
entertainment
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gospel music
hard bop
jazz
jazz music
lester young
music
music arranger
musicians
performing arts
record label
rhythm and blues
silverto
singers
spiritual awakening
spirituality
the united states of mind
Product details
- ISBN 9780520253926
- Weight: 408g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 01 Aug 2007
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Horace Silver is one of the last giants remaining from the incredible flowering and creative extension of bebop music that became known as 'hard bop' in the 1950s. This freewheeling autobiography of the great composer, pianist, and band leader takes us from his childhood in Norwalk, Connecticut, through his rise to fame as a musician in New York, to his comfortable life 'after the road' in California. During that time, Silver composed an impressive repertoire of tunes that have become standards and recorded a number of classic albums. Well-seasoned with anecdotes about the music, the musicians, and the milieu in which he worked and prospered, Silver's narrative - like his music - is earthy, vernacular, and intimate. His stories resonate with lessons learned from hearing and playing alongside such legends as Art Blakey, Charlie Parker, and Lester Young. His irrepressible sense of humor combined with his distinctive spirituality make his account both entertaining and inspiring. Most importantly, Silver's unique take on the music and the people who play it opens a window onto the creative process of jazz and the social and cultural worlds in which it flourishes.
"Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty" also describes Silver's spiritual awakening in the late 1970s. This transformation found its expression in the electronic and vocal music of the three-part work called "The United States of Mind" and eventually led the musician to start his own record label, Silveto. Silver details the economic forces that eventually persuaded him to put Silveto to rest and to return to the studios of major jazz recording labels like Columbia, Impulse, and Verve, where he continued expanding his catalog of new compositions and recordings that are at least as impressive as his earlier work.
Horace Silver was born in Norwalk, Connecticut in 1928. He now lives in Malibu, California. Phil Pastras is Assistant Professor of English at Pasadena City College and author of Dead Man Blues: Jelly Roll Morton Way Out West (California, 2002).
