Horace Silver
Piano Solo on
Quicksilver

About

Horace Silver's piano solo is the 3rd of 4 on this recording, spanning two choruses at approximately 289 BPM. Set within a swinging rhythmic framework, the 64-bar AABA form and the key of A♭, the solo tests the player's command at high velocity. The tune borrows its harmonic structure from "Lover, Come Back to Me," a set of changes that generations of improvisers have used as a testing ground for new ideas. Positioned between Clifford Brown and Art Blakey, Silver bridges the conversation between the two. Composed by Horace Silver as a contrafact on "Lover, Come Back to Me," the piece features an extended 64-bar AABA form and is played at a blistering tempo approaching 280 bpm.

Horace Silver was 25 to 26 years old at the time.