Jazz pianist Horace Silver dies at 85

Jazz pianist, Horace Silver, died Wednesday, June 18 at 85. Silver’s son, Gregory, said that the performer-songwriter died Wednesday morning of natural causes.

Silver began his career as a saxophone player in Connecticut, according to NPR. He moved to New York in the 1950s.

After that, everything was history! Silver went on to create the type of jazz known as “hard bop” that combined R&B, gospel and piano.

When Silver moved to New York he switched to playing piano and performed at the Blue Note Jazz Club. He went on to perform with artists like Miles Davis and Art Blakey. Silver mentored many people and wrote music that is still played today.

According to Billboard, between 1955 and 1980 Silver made more than 20 records for the Blue Note Club. The “new” sound that Silver produced was exciting to those who listened to it.

In his autobiography, Let's Get To The Nitty Gritty, Silver said that his musical influence early in life was his father, who "played the violin, guitar, and mandolin, strictly by ear.”

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