Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers

One of the most successful tunes from the album, "The Preacher", was almost rejected for recording by producer Alfred Lion, who thought it was "too old-timey", but reinstated at the insistence of Blakey and Silver, who threatened to cancel the session until he had written another tune to record in its place if it wasn’t included.Silver, H. (2007): Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty: The Autobiography of Horace Silver, University of California Press, p. 79-80 According to Silver, the track showed that the band could "reach way back and get that old time, gutbucket barroom feeling with just a taste of the back-beat".Rosenthal, D. H. (1992): Hard Bop: Jazz and Black Music, 1955–1965, OUP, p. 38

Originally released as an LP, the album has subsequently been reissued on CD several times.

The music on the album mixes bebop influences with blues and gospel feels.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

These recordings helped establish the hard bop style.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

These were the first sessions in which he used the quintet format which he would largely use for the rest of his career.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r158851/review|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic review]

| rev2 = The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide

| rev2Score = {{rating|5|5}}{{Cite book

|editor-last=Swenson

|editor-first=J.

| author-link =

| year = 1985

| title = The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide

| publisher = Random House/Rolling Stone

| location = USA

| isbn = 0-394-72643-X

| pages = 181

}}

| rev3 = The Penguin Guide to Jazz

| rev3score = {{Rating|3.5|4}} Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008) The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th edition). Penguin. p. 1298.

}}AllMusic critic Scott Yanow called it "a true classic".[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r158851/review|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic: Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers – Review]

{{tracklist

| headline = Side 1

| extra_column = Date recorded

| all_writing = Horace Silver, except as noted.

| title1 = Room 608

| extra1 = November 13, 1954

| length1 = 5:22

| title2 = Creepin' In

| extra2 = November 13, 1954

| length2 = 7:26

| title3 = Stop Time

| extra3 = November 13, 1954

| length3 = 4:07

| title4 = To Whom It May Concern

| extra4 = February 6, 1955

| length4 = 5:11

}}

{{tracklist

| headline = Side 2

| extra_column = Date recorded

| title5 = Hippy

| extra5 = February 6, 1955

| length5 = 5:23

| title6 = The Preacher

| extra6 = February 6, 1955

| length6 = 4:18

| title7 = Hankerin'

| extra7 = February 6, 1955

| writer7 = Hank Mobley

| length7 = 5:18

| title8 = Doodlin'

| extra8 = November 13, 1954

| length8 = 6:45

}}

{{Track

| all_writing = Horace Silver

| headline = Side 1

| extra_column = Date recorded

| title1 = Room 608

| extra1 = November 13, 1954

| title2 = Creepin' In

| extra2 = November 13, 1954

}}{{Track

| headline = Side 2

| extra_column = Date recorded

| title1 = Doodlin'

| extra1 = November 13, 1954

| title2 = Stop Time

| extra2 = November 13, 1954

}}

{{Track

| all_writing = Horace Silver, except as noted.

| headline = Side 1

| extra_column = Date recorded

| title1 = Hippy

| extra1 = February 6, 1955

| title2 = The Preacher

| extra2 = February 6, 1955

}}{{Track

| headline = Side 2

| extra_column = Date recorded

| title1 = Hankerin'

| writer1 = Mobley

| extra1 = February 6, 1955

| title2 = To Whom It May Concern

| extra2 = February 6, 1955

}}

• Horace Silver – piano
• Kenny Dorham – trumpet
• Hank Mobley – tenor saxophone
• Doug Watkins – bass
• Art Blakey – drums

• Alfred Lion – production
• Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer
• Reid Miles – design
• Francis Wolff – photography

{{reflist}}

{{Jazz Messengers}}{{Horace Silver}}{{Hank Mobley}}{{Authority control}}

Category:1956 compilation albums

Category:Horace Silver albums

Category:The Jazz Messengers albums

Category:Albums produced by Alfred Lion

Category:Blue Note Records albums

Category:Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio

Category:Albums recorded in a home studio