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Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty
Horace Silver
Autobiography of Horace Silver
University of California Press
March 2006
282 pages ISBN: 0520243749 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Biography
Horace Silver is one of the last giants remaining from the
incredible flowering and creative extension of bebop music
that became known as "hard bop" in the 1950s. This
freewheeling autobiography of the great composer, pianist,
and bandleader takes us from his childhood in Norwalk,
Connecticut, through his rise to fame as a musician in New
York, to his comfortable life "after the road" in
California. During that time, Silver composed an impressive
repertoire of tunes that have become standards and recorded
a number of classic albums. Well-seasoned with anecdotes
about the music, the musicians, and the milieu in which he
worked and prospered, Silver's narrative--like his music--is
earthy, vernacular, and intimate. His stories resonate with
lessons learned from hearing and playing alongside such
legends as Art Blakey, Charlie Parker, and Lester Young. His
irrepressible sense of humor combined with his distinctive
spirituality make his account both entertaining and
inspiring. Most importantly, Silver's unique take on the
music and the people who play it opens a window onto the
creative process of jazz and the social and cultural worlds
in which it flourishes.
Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty also describes Silver's
spiritual awakening in the late 1970s. This transformation
found its expression in the electronic and vocal music of
the three-part work called The United States of Mind and
eventually led the musician to start his own record label,
Silveto. Silver details the economic forces that eventually
persuaded him to put Silveto to rest and to return to the
studios of major jazz recording labels like Columbia,
Impulse, and Verve, where he continued expanding his
catalogue of new compositions and recordings that are at
least as impressive as his earlier work.
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