Customer Reviews

Doin the Thing

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The band on "Doin the Thing" is one of Horace Silver's best. At that time the music he was playing was closer to hard bop though there are some elements of soul that he would become more influenced by. As a live set, it is excellent, great sound quality especially with the remaster. The extra tracks are classic as well. The in between stage banter is dated but amusing and nostalgic and fits with the disc. Any fan of hard bop or soul jazz will want to pick this one up. Hard bop took away the somewhat sterile sound of bebop and made jazz populist again without selling. Anything from Horace Silver from the 60's is great. This is an especially good album though.

Not many artists would risk opening a set with a tune this strong (traditionally the best is saved for last), so its very interesting to hear how Silver manages to maintain the momentum of the show after a tune like Filthy McNasty but he does...

(Filthy McNasty is a funky, groovy, gospelly, toe tappin swinging, but there's also a bit of Latin in it.)

The ensemble, Silver style is ultra cool -- Roy Brooks and Gene Taylor hold down the rhythm section... Horace Silver demonstrates his unique style of "shout" combing, whereas rather than just comping chords, he plays many different type of rhythms - - including swing, church and boogie woogie. Junior Cook's solos are great, but never overshadow the master...

i like how Gene Taylor's bass walk's a find line between swing and ostinato figures.

As for Silver's piano style, its deeply rooted in R&B, but the punches and accents are definitely post-Monk R&B... He can play a big fat octave heavy with LH harmony style like GARNER, old style blues and R&B and goes outside too... its pretty amazing the way old school meets "the new thing" - - just as great is the Art Blakey influence, which includes the backbeat heavy drumming and tight horn arrangements... Silver's comps seem to overwhelm Cook's solos at times, but overall, its an intense listen...

Filthy McNasty is followed by a groovy, modern, complex but rhythmically driving ditty called DOIN' THE THING which gives Junior Cook a real chance to cook (McNasty is Mitchell's vehicle.) - - The band then gets in the groove with something sweet, mid-tempo, a little dark (minor key) called KISS ME RIGHT - - a great Mobley-esque vehicle for Cook... here it sounds like the mics may have been readjusted... Horace is doing that heavy comp, but the horn is much clearer... Gene Taylor's bass is real in the pocket, ultra locked in with Roy Brooks, who's playing is hauntingly Blakey-esque... Blue Mitchell takes one of his best solos on the album... and Horace Silver really has fun laying his solo over Taylor's line (also one of his best solos on the album) - - as the tune goes on things just seem to get tighter, tighter, tighter, tighter, and cook more and more... classic Silver... and there's a great trade and shout chorus too and Roy Brooks gets to show off his chops... (hint: He can groove in the Art Blakey tradition, but solo wise is not far from the flamboyant Rich and Roach school of soloing - - i.e. explosive.)

The set closes with THE GRINGO... a tune that like many on the album opens up with a a tricky little head, but then settles into the groove... This one is both modern and latin... but suddenly the band starts swinging... in my opinion a tad bit too fast, but its amazing to hear how Gene Taylor is keepin' up... I play organ bass, and even with five fingers that line would hurt. - - Though the tempo doesn't make much sense, but when Silver comes in for his solo it sounds like a great vehicle for him to really have fun sequencing around on... finally the tune ends with Roy Brook's showing off his thang, then the ultimate set closer of the evening -- THE THEME....blam... off to the bar for for that next round of al-kee-hall...

Silver and his group are never less than swinging, and this CD, recorded live at the Village Gate, opens with the great "Filthy McNasty" and never lets up. Small group Blue Note hard bop at its best.

My husband was heartbroken when his old copy of this CD was ruined. He will be thrilled to get this replacement copy. Horace Silver is one of his heroes, and as he is a professional trumpet player his opinion is one that I value.

What can you say? Horace Silver is one of the all time greats and this is an excellent example of his work during the best (in my opinion) jazz years ever.

What can you say that hasn't been said about Horace Silver and the Village Gate? Every song is seriously good even though Filthy McNasty gets all the pub. Blue Mitchell and Junior Cook do some of their best work here and Gene Taylor and Roy Brooks round out the group. This is the most famous of Silver's groups and if you like it, I highly recommend that you get a hold of Horace Silver Live at the Newport Jazz Festival where Mitchell is replaced by Louis Smith. It actually may be a better album although for sheer energy nothing bests live at the Village Gate - certainly one of the best jazz albums of all time.