Pianist and composer Horace Silver at the Storyville night club in Boston, c. 1958.

Courtesy of Lee Tanner/Jazz Image.

 

“The Preacher”

Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers

1955

The Jazz Messengers, founded by pianist Horace Silver and drummer Art Blakey, (and led by Blakey for 45 years) were the progenitors of hard bop, blending elements of gospel and the blues with the rhythms and melodies of bebop. “When we’re on the stand,” Blakey said, “and we see that there are people ... who aren’t patting their feet ... we know we’re doing something wrong. Because when we do get our message across, those heads and feet do move.”