Six Pieces of Silver [Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Horace Silver | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 12, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B00004X0QO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,986 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #25 in Music > Indie Music > Jazz > Bebop

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite essential for the casual fan, January 3, 2003

By 

G B (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Pieces of Silver (Audio CD)

Picking up a 50s Horace Silver album on Blue Note records is definitely a no-risk proposition, but there are better places to start than Six Pieces of Silver. The best of the seven pieces on the original album are "Enchantment" (great soul jazz) and the rumbling, slightly ominous "Senor Blues". Most of the other pieces are typical catchy, grooving Silver if not as exceptional as those on Blowin' the Blues Away or Horace Silver & the Jazz Messengers. (So get those two albums first.) As an added note, the sound is really murky on the Rudy Van Gelder edition.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth far more than six, or 30, pieces of silver--no betrayal of the listener., July 19, 2006

By 

Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Six Pieces of Silver (Audio CD)

Simply put, any Silver session recorded before 1964's "Song for My Father" and featuring Hank Mobley on tenor is essential. This one was made in 1956, the year that found Silver on an unprecedented tear: the sublime "Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers" (on Columbia), the delicately shaded and varied "Silver's Blue" (on Epic) and the latin-flavored "Six Pieces of Silver" (on Blue Note), with three versions of Horace's "hit"--"Senor Blues." Though the latter suffers from some of the overly arranged formulaic sameness of "Song for My Father," it's complemented by seven additional gemlike Silver miniatures, each affording more room for expressive solo work than the tightly wound main attraction. Finally, the two Silver trio selections--"Shirl" and "For Heaven's Sake"--rank among the pianist's most effective solo offerings.

After acquiring the aforementioned trilogy of vital disks, you'll want to pick up "Horace-Scope" (with "Strollin'"), "Further Explorations" (with "Moon Rays") and "Stylings of Silver" (no hits, just superb interplay between Mobley and Farmer). At that point, if you want your record collection to look like everyone else's, get the Blue Notes with "The Preacher," "Song for My Father," and "Blowin' the Blues Away." Just don't bet on them seeing the most playing time in your CD player.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sterling Silver, September 12, 2000

By 

Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Six Pieces of Silver (Audio CD)

"Six Pieces of Silver" is one of Horace Silver's best albums of the 1950s, and unfortunately it has been out of print on CD for more than ten years. Luckily for all jazz fans it makes a permanent return to the catalog with this RVG Edition reissue. This version of the Silver Quintet is Donald Byrd, Hank Mobley, Doug Watkins and Louis Hayes, and they are, of course, in top form. Horace Silver's albums always seem to have the perfect balance of swinging hard-bop and quiet ballads, and "Six Pieces" is no exception. The up-tempo cuts are led by the barn-burner hit "Senor Blues," but "Cool Eyes," "Camouflage" and "Virgo" are its equal in quality if not intensity. The pensive, mid-tempo "Enchantment," and the two lush ballads, "Shirl" and "For Heaven's Sake" complete the original album. Added to the CD issue (but it is not exclusive to the RVG edition as it was on the original CD) are the 45-single version and the vocal version of "Senor Blues," and the bonus cut "Tippin'." The latter two were cut at a different session with Junior Cook replacing Mobley and Gene Taylor replacing Watkins. The other musicians remain the same, and Bill Henderson is the vocalist on "Senor." As with other titles in the RVG series, the remastering of "Six Pieces of Silver" brings forth an overall bigger, brighter and more natural sound. While it's no "Song For My Father" or "Blowin' The Blues Away," this an excellent edition to the family Silver.