Vinyl Record

Horace Silver Quintet - Blowin' the Blues Away

Horace Silver Quintet - Blowin' the Blues Away on LP vinyl. A 1959 Jazz record available from Kilmorna Collection in Listowel, Ireland.

LP · Jazz · 1959

Available from Kilmorna Collection in Listowel.

Buyer notes: 1959 LP, currently available from the Kilmorna Collection Jazz shelf. Pay for pickup in Listowel or ship within Ireland for EUR 5.50.

Blowin' the Blues Away is Horace Silver in full hard-bop command. Recorded and released in 1959, it captures the pianist-composer with one of his defining bands: Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor saxophone, Gene Taylor on bass and Louis Hayes on drums, with Silver leading from the piano bench like a preacher, arranger and street-corner storyteller at once. The album is compact, direct and packed with tunes that feel built to last. Silver's genius was making sophistication sound physical. The title track charges forward with blues bite and horn-line urgency. Sister Sadie turns gospel rhythm and jazz writing into something instantly memorable. Peace reveals the other side of his language: lyrical, spacious and spiritually poised without losing harmonic depth. Even when the group strips down or shifts mood, the music keeps its sense of human address. These are not abstract exercises; they are compositions with posture, humor and momentum. The album is also a reminder of why Blue Note hard bop became such a durable collecting language. The writing is strong enough to sing, the solos are concise enough to hold shape, and the rhythm section gives the whole record a spring-loaded clarity. Blowin' the Blues Away is not merely a good Horace Silver album. It is one of the places where his compositional identity becomes unavoidable.

Blowin' the Blues Away matters because it contains some of Silver's most resonant writing, including Sister Sadie and Peace, and because it documents the Junior Cook and Blue Mitchell front line at a peak of shared language. It is a core hard-bop album: blues-rooted, gospel-aware, rhythmically alive and formally sharp enough to make every tune feel inevitable.

This is an essential Horace Silver title for a Blue Note or hard-bop shelf. It works both as an entry point and as a long-term keeper because the album is song-forward without being simple, swinging without becoming generic, and emotionally varied without losing focus. Collectors who already know Song for My Father will find the same composerly stamp here in a leaner, late-1950s form.

Hard bop with blues and gospel drive, bright trumpet-tenor front lines, punchy piano comping, concise solos and a rhythm section built for lift.

Recommended for: Blue Note collectors building a hard-bop foundation; Listeners who want jazz composition with blues and gospel roots; Fans of Horace Silver's most memorable small-group writing.

What is the verified year for Blowin' the Blues Away? The album was recorded and released in 1959, despite occasional conflicting dates in secondary listings. Which tracks are key? Blowin' the Blues Away, Sister Sadie and Peace are the central entry points into the album's range. Is this a good first Horace Silver album? Yes. It gives a clear picture of Silver as pianist, bandleader and composer, with hard-bop energy and unusually memorable themes.