Horace Silver
Piano Solo on
Que Pasa

About

Horace Silver's extended piano solo is the sole improvisation on this trio arrangement of his Latin-flavored composition. At 160 BPM in D-flat minor with a Latin feel, the stripped-down trio setting removes the horn front line and places Silver's piano at the center, requiring him to carry the full melodic and harmonic weight of the performance. Without horns to share the spotlight, every aspect of Silver's pianism comes to the fore: his percussive attack, his blues-inflected melodic sense, his rhythmic vitality, and his ability to sustain interest across an extended improvisation.

Horace Silver was 34 to 35 years old at the time.