It may be hard to believe, but there was a time when live jazz was broadcast on the radio from clubs across the country. Zev Feldman, who has produced reissues for many labels over the last decade or so, has presided over the release of music by a number of prominent artists (like Cal Tjader, Cannonball Adderley, and Wynton Kelly with Wes Montgomery) recorded from the stage of Seattle’s Penthouse club. The latest to appear features a short-lived edition of the
Horace Silver Quintet. Short-lived because the unit heard on
Silver In Seattle: Live At The Penthouse has a front line of trumpeter Woody Shaw and tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, who were in Silver’s group together only from the spring of 1965 until perhaps the first half of 1966. Drummer Roger Humphries was with Silver from mid-1964 until 1967, with various bassists joining him in the rhythm section. That role was often filled, as it is here, by Teddy Smith. But here’s the thing: if you are a fan of vintage hard bop, especially on the Blue Note label, you love Horace Silver’s music practically by definition, no matter who is on the bandstand. The five tunes here include Henderson’s
The Kicker, the well-known Silver originals
Song For My Father and
The Cape Verdean Blues, which was first recorded a couple of months after the Seattle appearance. The quintet is excellent form on this pair of broadcasts, a week apart. That’s another relic of the past. Bands would frequently appear at the same club for a couple of weeks or even longer. This situation provided the musicians a chance to learn the room and make any necessary adjustments required, with the added benefit of staying in one city and keeping off the road for a spell. Jim Wilke of KING-FM hosted the broadcasts, and he wisely recorded many of them for fans to enjoy decades later. Silver’s blend of buoyant groove and memorable melodies will never go stale, and here’s another vault issue to prove it. Easily recommended.
Blue Note; Woody Shaw (tpt) Joe Henderson (ts) Horace Silver (p) Teddy Smith (b) Roger Humphries (d); Seattle, WA, August 12 & 19*, 1965; The Kicker/ Song For My Father/ The Cape Verdean Blues/ Sayonara Blues*/ Band introductions*/ No Smokin'*; 53:45. www.bluenote.com
