Song for My Father is a 1965 album by the Horace Silver Quintet, released on the Blue Note label. The album was inspired by a trip that Silver had made to Brazil. The cover artwork features a photograph of Silver's father, John Tavares Silva, to whom the title song was dedicated.
- "My mother was of Irish and Negro descent, my father of Portuguese origin. He was born on the island of Maio, one of the Cape Verde Islands" (Horace Silver, quoted in Leonard Feather's original liner notes)
A jazz standard, "Song for My Father" is here in its original form. It is a Bossa Nova in F-minor with an AAB head. On the head, a trumpet and tenor saxophone play in harmony. The song has had a noticeable impact in pop music. The opening bass piano notes were borrowed by Steely Dan for their song "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", while the opening horn riff was borrowed by Stevie Wonder for his song "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing". Earth Wind & Fire also borrowed the opening bass notes for their song Clover.
Allmusic reviewer Steve Huey praised the album: One of Blue Note's greatest mainstream hard bop dates, "Song for My Father" is Horace Silver's signature LP and the peak of a discography already studded with classics...it hangs together remarkably well, and Silver's writing is at his tightest and catchiest. The album was identified by Scott Yanow in his Allmusic essay "Hard Bop" as one of the 17 Essential Hard Bop Recordings.
Track listing[]
- "Song for My Father" – 7:15
- "The Natives Are Restless Tonight" – 6:08
- "Calcutta Cutie" – 8:28[3]
- "Que Pasa" – 7:45
- "The Kicker" – 5:24
- "Lonely Woman" – 7:03
- The following tracks were added to various CD reissues:
- "Sanctimonious Sam" – 3:52
- "Que Pasa" (trio version) – 5:35
- "Sighin' and Cryin'" – 5:23
- "Silver Treads Among My Soul" – 3:50
(All compositions by Horace Silver except 5. Joe Henderson, 7. Musa Kaleem.
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: 3, 6, 7, 8 — 31 October 1963; 9, 10 — 28 January 1964; 1, 2, 4, 5 — 26 October 1964.)
Personnel[]
Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5
- Tracks 3, 6 – 10
- Horace Silver — piano
- Blue Mitchell — trumpet
- Junior Cook — tenor saxophone
- Gene Taylor — bass
- Roy Brooks — drums
Cover versions[]
In 2003, hip-hop producer Madlib recorded his version of the title track for the Blue Note remix project Shades Of Blue.
Jazz Reggae Oboist Anna Fisher from Concord, Massachusetts covered SONG FOR MY FATHER with Reggae Keyboardist Jawge Hughes on MOLIN MUSIC label released in 2004 on their full length CD release, YIN YANG this track features oboe, keyboard and guitar stylings of Dale Hauskins it has been used weekly in Austin, Texas since it release and had international radio play on both Jazz, Smooth Jazz and Reggae Shows alike.
In 2008, pianist David Benoit performed his version of the song on his cover album Heroes.