The Preacher (Horace Silver song)

"The Preacher" is a composition by Horace Silver. The original version, by Silver's quintet, was recorded on February 6, 1955. It was soon covered by other musicians, including with lyrics added by Babs Gonzales. It has become a jazz standard.[1]

"The Preacher"
Composition by Horace Silver
from the album Horace Silver Quintet, Vol. 2
LanguageEnglish
RecordedFebruary 6, 1955
GenreJazz, hardbop
LabelBlue Note
Composer(s)Horace Silver
Producer(s)Alfred Lion

Composition

"The Preacher" is based on the chords of "Show Me the Way to Go Home",[2] which Silver often used to end his concerts.[3] He wrote it in the Arlington Hotel on Twenty-Fifth Street in New York City, where he lived for four years from 1954.[4]:57–58

Original recording

The original version featured Silver on piano, with Hank Mobley (tenor saxophone), Kenny Dorham (trumpet), Doug Watkins (bass), and Art Blakey (drums). "Fired by the song's rocking beat, Dorham and Mobley soar into blues-drenched, vocally inflected solos. Silver follows with a typically stripped-down statement, built around first a two-chord percussive figure and then a descending run, each repeated. Before taking the tune out, the band riffs behind his funky noodling in classic call-and-response fashion."[3] "The gospel influence of 'The Preacher' was achieved subtly [...] with a melody and associated riffs which had a natural, built-in back-beat."[5]

It was almost rejected by producer Alfred Lion, who thought it was "too old-timey", but it was retained at the insistence of Blakey and Silver, who threatened to cancel the session until Silver had written another tune to record in its place if it was not included.[4]:79–80

"The Preacher" was released as a single along with "Doodlin'"; the pairing "might be the first example of a jazz hit single going on to boost sales of its source album – or, as here, albums".[6] It was Silver's first hit.[7] The track helped trigger interest in hardbop among other musicians.[8]

Later versions

The song was soon covered by other musicians, including organist Jimmy Smith (on At Club Baby Grand, Volume 1, 1956)[9] and trombonist Kai Winding (on Trombone Panorama, 1956).[10] Babs Gonzales added lyrics for his version.[11] As of 2014, more than 220 versions of the song had been recorded.[12]

gollark: 🐝 this, what is *waitpid* doing?
gollark: Aha, the mmaping mmapized.
gollark: hax.
gollark: What does it want me to do, use a "file"?
gollark: Scheme just APPARENTLY dislikes my mmaped map somewhat?

References
  1. "Horace Silver / Horace Silver & the Jazz Messengers – Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers". AllMusic. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  2. "Horace Silver – Obituary". (June 19, 2014). The Daily Telegraph.
  3. Rosenthal, David H. (1993) Hard Bop: Jazz and Black Music, 1955–1965. Oxford University Press. p. 38.
  4. Silver, Horace (2007) Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty – The Autobiography of Horace Silver. University of California Press.
  5. Carr, Ian; Fairweather, Digby; Priestley, Brian (2004) "The Rough Guide to Jazz" (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. p. 730.
  6. Cook, Richard (2004) Blue Note Records – The Biography. Justin, Charles & Co. p. 74.
  7. Shoemaker, Bill (November 1999) "Horace Silver – The Horace Silver Retrospective". JazzTimes.
  8. Gioia, Ted (2011) The History of Jazz. Oxford University Press. p. 288.
  9. Leggett, Steve "Jimmy Smith – The Incredible Jimmy Smith at Club Baby Grand, Vol. 1". AllMusic. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  10. "Kai Winding – Trombone Panorama". AllMusic. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  11. "Sunday Afternoon with Babs Gonzales at Small's Paradise – Babs Gonzales". Fresh Sound Records. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  12. McDonough, John (September 2014) "Horace Silver". Down Beat p. 49.
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