Horace Silver ”In Pursuit Of The 27th Man”

Horace Silver

”In Pursuit Of The 27th Man”
( LP Blue Note Records, 1972 )
Catalog # BN-LA 054-F

Tracklisting:
1 Liberated Brother (5:20)
2 Kathy (4:15)
3 Gregory Is Here (6:18)
4 Summer In Central Park (4:38)
5 Nothin’ Can Stop Me Now (5:13)
6 In Pursuit Of The 27th Man (9:42)
7 Strange Vibes (5:02)

Personnel & Credits:
David Friedman (vib)
Horace Silver (p)
Bob Cranshaw (el-b)
Mickey Roker (d)
Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 6, 1972

Review:
Here’s a rare item in Horace Silver’s discography as a leader: a session with vibraphonist David Friedman and no horns. (Flutist Hubert Laws was originally slated to have been involved as well, but was prevented from doing so by his record company.) “In Pursuit of the 27th Man” was one of four pieces recorded by this quartet. The album was completed with three other selections by Silver, Bob Cranshaw, Mickey Roker, and two then-rising young players, trumpeter Randy Brecker and his younger brother, tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker.
This tune finds Silver in a modal mood—C Phrygian, to be precise. It also shows him as a more interactive accompanist than has usually been the case. This is especially true during the last half of the track. (Typically, Silver—to quote critic Martin Williams— “bounces, barks and chops” behind soloists, to generally positive effect.)
By Bill Kirchner

By Pier