Customer Reviews

Horace Silver Quintet: Recorded Live at the Umbria Jazz Festival

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Recorded at the 1976 Umbria Jazz Festival, this rare Silver footage features what many believe to be Horace's best front line (Harrell/Berg) and the leader at the peak of his form.

For Horace, the 70s were a decade of uncertainty and experimentation. Both Blue Note (his record label) and his family situation were going thru difficult phases. Horace had thrown in the towel on living in NYC a few years earlier after a disheartening burglary. Yet many (including me) view his mid-70s output as his best, combining new textures and harmonics with challenging and varied settings. Watch how he physically attacks the piano here and his unconventional fingering.

The performances are very fine (one wishes for many more than 52 minutes) and are representative of what happens at Umbria, based on my personal experience. Horace locks into Beskrone and Gladden in a powerful fashion and gives Berg some freedoms he rarely gave other tenors (some trimmings/noodlings here and there). Berg really walks the walk on this performance; you can see his brimming confidence. He'll be missed.

Technically, the images and audio are good. The audience cut-ins are amateurish, with repeated use of the same reaction clip. But it's fun to see Art Blakey (the Messengers would take the stage next; see elsewhere on Amazon) setting up his kit about 10 feet away right smack dab in the middle of Horace's performance. Wonder what Horace thought about that? Will someone ever figure out what happened between those two? For that matter, will someone begin a biography of Horace now, before we lose him? He's one of the last, you know.

This excellent performance was filmed on July 20, 1976 at the Umbria Jazz Festival. The Quintet features Tom Harrell on trumpet, Bob Berg on tenor saxophone, Steve Beskrone on bass guitar and Eddie Gladden on drums. The group performs four Horace Silver originals in this 50 minute film, the third and fourth pieces being the highlights--In Pursuit of the 27th Man and Song for My Father. On these two songs in particular, the group is in top form (Harrell especially), and the viewer is rewarded with the experience of witnessing the unique way in which Mr. Silver attacks the piano, producing his wonderful and readily identifiable style, as well as hearing his nearly unmatched accompaniment to the other players. A highly recommended DVD.

I pull this DVD out pretty often as the setting in a
courtyard in Umbria, inhances the performance of this
great pianist. This concert includes Song For My
Father, done so many years later, from the original demonstrates how master musicians embellish their creations making them even better than the original.

Very creative outstanding approach. Bob Berg was electrifying and
Tom Harrell easy and precise. The music flowed
and spontaenity was "BURNIN'".
Horace is always at the source of creative
Jazz.

Yorke Brent-Harris

Solid hard bop performance by a master. Exceptional sideman, especially Eddie Gladden on drums and the late Bob Berg on tenor. Tom Harrell's trumpet playing was the weakest link. He didn't reach the musical heights the others were hitting and at times I found his playing pedestrian and on the boring side. For whatever reasons it seemed to me that he was having an off night. Still a great DVD for any jazz lover.

Just beyond words. If you are a fan of late sixties "Hard Bop", as it is called. Just amazing.