Horace Silver
Piano Solo on
Singin' and Cryin'

About

Horace Silver's three-chorus piano solo is the sole improvisation on this soulful Silver original. Over the 24-bar form at 96 BPM in C minor, Silver's improvisation unfolds with an unhurried, storytelling quality that the moderate tempo invites. The 24-bar form provides a slightly longer harmonic cycle than a standard blues, giving Silver additional room to develop his melodic ideas. His solo builds with characteristic craft, beginning with simple, bluesy phrases and gradually introducing greater harmonic and rhythmic complexity, channeling the intertwining of joy and sorrow suggested by the tune's evocative title.

Horace Silver was 35 to 36 years old at the time.