Customer Reviews

Finger Poppin

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was the first record cut by Silver's famous Blue Mitchell/Junior Cook quintet. It features 8 originals from Horace, which probably aren't his most memorable compositions but are excellent vehicles for showcasing the band. The rhythm section takes off like a rocket from the opening notes of the first cut and you know you're in for a treat. Young Louis Hayes is a loud, flashy drummer somewhat similar to Philly Joe Jones, and Silver is in a swaggering mood with his lightning-fast, funky piano riffs. The exciting interplay between horns and rhythm section reminds me of the "Milestones" LP from Miles Davis, which Horace probably regarded as his competition.

It sounds like the musicians had played these tunes dozens of times before this date and pretty much knew what they wanted to say, and they probably did. Mitchell's solos in particular are almost too perfect. I don't think of him as a great ballad player, but he does a fine job delivering "You happened my way", one of two ballads on the album (and incidentally a very fine tune). This album has been out of print for awhile (I have the original transfer) so the re-release with the benefit of remastering is an event. If you like Blue Note recordings and don't have this record, you'll want to pick it up.

One reviewer wrote that Horace is often dismissed for his simplistic style. I think the simple tunes are harder to write and if those tunes are still awesome and fresh sounding 50 years after they were recorded you have a rare gem on your hands.

Finger Poppin' is that kind of album. I think the reasons it's still popular and memorable among jazz collectors is because it's easy to get into and even easier to enjoy.

Juicy Lucy is probably the best known track on the album and it is a personal favorite of mine. It's not a blues but it's a tune who's chord progressions are based upon Charlie Parker's tune confirmation (Such tunes are called 'heads'). Be sure to listen for some awesome solos here.

Swingin' The Samba is a very nice tune with a latin groove that'll get you moving. The ending unison phrase at the end is worth listening for.

You Happened My Way is a beautiful ballad expertly performed by Blue Mitchell and listen for Junior Cook's smoking solo in this tune.

Another reviewer stated that Blue's solos sounded worked out in advance. Often in sessions many artists will write out their solos(or at least some main themes or ideas). There's nothing wrong with this especially considering the fact that you'll have to hear it forever once the record is cut.

Blue Note artists tended to practice harder for their sessions which explains why they have a highly polished sound to them. Finger Poppin' is an excellent album that is a blue note classic which I hope that you will enjoy. I highly recommend you also check out Horace's other albums with this quintet such as Blowin' The Blues Away, Paris Blues and The Jody Grind among others.

"Finger Poppin'" (1959) followed Silver's most under-appreciated (and perhaps most ambitious) Blue Note date, "Further Explorations" (1958). The cast is different (though the fiery Louis Hayes remains on drums), but the compositions and arrangements by Silver are no less artful and the soloists as inspired as the frontline of Art Farmer and Clifford Jordan from the preceding album. This time it's Blue Mitchell and Junior Cook negotiating the fast tempos and tricky stop-and-go melodies with precision and ease, with Mitchell impressively setting the pace with the first solo on the date. He's crisp, lyrical, inventive, melodic--reminiscent of Kenny Dorham with a fuller sound--and Junior Cook takes his cue accordingly, delivering a solo that's almost as melodically arresting as an inspired Hank Mobley construction. Both soloists employ the too-rare practice of "listening to themselves," repeating and modifying their phrases while developing whole structures at top speed as opposed to letting fly with a stream of bebop cliches.

Besides "Finger Poppin'" the program has one other indispensable Silver standard, a number that's infectious if not irresistible in its communication of a visceral groove: "Come On Home" (Lambert, Hendricks and Ross would add lyrics and re-record the tune). But this album will strike some listeners as atypical Silver. There are lots of quiet moods, ample space allocated to each of the soloists, and a willingness to go beyond the formulaic, hard-driving and boppish, frequently "danceable" miniature gems with which the composer is primarily associated. (I know some jazz devotees who, because of such unsophisticated, "limited" qualities, consider Horace's records a waste of time and money.) But the arrangements on this occasion have some of the complexity and sophistication of earlier Silver masterpieces like "Ecarole" and "Moon Rays," stylings reflective of the creative (even Ellingtonian) side of Silver which, unfortunately, became less apparent beginning in the 1960s and especially after simpler fare like "Song for My Father" (1964) proved a commercial formula that could best serve to keep tiny Blue Note records financially solvent (though it should be noted that the operation folded within several years after such Blue Note blockbusters as the aforementioned and Lee Morgan's "Sidewinder" (and its numerous imitations).

Thanks to the eventual purchase of the label by mega-conglomerate EMI, "Blue Note" still lives on at least in name, but it's albums like "Finger Poppin'" that testify not merely to its commercial niche but its invaluable contributions to a vibrant American art form in full bloom.

Although I'm not familiar with this album, I own "A World of Piano" by Phineas Newborn, on which "Juicy Lucy" appears. My desire to hear the original Silver track brought me here and I checked out the reviews to provide me a baseline guide. Unfortunately, I have little confidence in a reviewer who labels "Juicy Lucy," a blues. Although steeped in blues vocabulary, like so much of the hard bop canon, the tune is in a 32 bar AABA format. And how did the other guy divine who Silver regarded as his competition? Anyway, I ordered the disk regardless. Maybe because I love Blue Mitchell's ballad playing. And I'll give it 5 stars even before the mail arrives.

Horace Silver recorded a flood of Blue Notes albums in his heyday, and I'm familiar with seven of them. There's classic Silver, like "Song Of My Father" and "Cape Verdean Blues", and there's pretty good Silver, like "Finger Poppin'". These songs are all about five minutes long with standard hard bop song structures. "Finger Poppin'" opens with the title track, which lives up to its name. "Juicy Lucy" is a midtempo blues. "Swingin' The Samba" is a catchy one where Louis Hayes plays extra toms to do the drummer and percussionist jobs simultaneously. "Sweet Stuff" is a slow ballad. "Cookin' at the Continental" is yet another that lives up to it name. "Come On Home" is another midtempo blues. "You Happened My Way" is a slow blues with a nice melody. "Mellow D" picks up the pace to close the album with some toe-tapping. The hornmen are Blue Mitchell on trumpet and Junior Cook on sax. They've done a lot with Horace Silver, and are pretty solid players. So, their solos are meaty, but not awe-inspiring. This is a 4-star CD, but it's in the lower half of 4-star CD's. I recommend this to Horace Silver and hard bop fans.