Señor Blues (song)

"Señor Blues" is a composition by Horace Silver. The original version, by Silver's quintet, was recorded on November 10, 1956. It has become a jazz standard.[1] Silver later wrote lyrics, which were first recorded by Silver's band with Bill Henderson in 1958.[2]

"Señor Blues"
Composition by Horace Silver
from the album '6 Pieces of Silver'
Language	English
Recorded	November 10, 1956. Hackensack, New Jersey, US
Genre	Jazz, hardbop
Label	Blue Note
Composer(s)	Horace Silver
Producer(s)	Alfred Lion

Composition

"'Señor Blues' is a 12/8 Latin piece with a dark, exotic flavor that recalls no other jazz composer as much as Duke Ellington. The first two chords are E♭ minor and B7, resembling (whether consciously intended or not) one of Ellington's favorite harmonic gestures."[3]

Original recording

The piece was first recorded on November 10, 1956, by the Horace Silver Quintet, of Silver (piano), Hank Mobley (tenor saxophone), Donald Byrd (trumpet), Doug Watkins (bass), and Louis Hayes (drums).[4] Scott Yanow commented that "'Señor Blues' officially put Horace Silver on the map".[4] It was released as part of the Blue Note Records album 6 Pieces of Silver.[4] The track was a minor hit and was released as a 45-rpm single by Blue Note.[5]

References

1. Stewart, Jocelyn Y. (June 18, 2014). "Horace Silver Dies at 85; Pioneering Jazz Pianist and Composer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
2. Silver, Horace (2006). Pastras, Phil (ed.). Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty: The Autobiography of Horace Silver. University of California Press. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-0-520-25392-6.
3. Kirchner, Bill. "The Dozens: Horace Silver". jazz.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
4. Yanow, Scott. "Horace Silver / Horace Silver Quintet – 6 Pieces of Silver". AllMusic.com. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
5. Gioia, Ted. "Horace Silver: Señor Blues (Live at Newport)". jazz.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2016.