Opus de Funk (composition)

Last updated
"Opus de Funk"
Composition by Horace Silver
from the album Horace Silver Trio, Vol. 2 and Art Blakey - Sabu
RecordedNovember 23, 1953. WOR Studios, New York, U.S.
Genre Jazz
Label Blue Note
Composer(s) Horace Silver
Producer(s) Alfred Lion

"Opus de Funk" (sometimes "Opus De Funk") is a composition by Horace Silver. The original version, by Silver's trio, was recorded on November 23, 1953.

Contents

Composition

It is "a typical Silver creation: advanced in its harmonic structure and general approach but with a catchy tune and finger-snapping beat." [1] This was an early use of the word "funk" in a song title. [2] In 2004, Silver reported that "Opus de Funk" was one of only three of his compositions that he did not own the rights to. [3]

Original recording and release

The piece was first recorded on November 23, 1953, by the Horace Silver Trio, of Silver (piano), Percy Heath (bass), and Art Blakey (drums). [4] It was released with other Silver and Blakey recordings as part of the Blue Note Records 10-inch Horace Silver Trio, Vol. 2 and Art Blakey - Sabu, then on the 12-inch Horace Silver Trio and Art Blakey-Sabu . The track was also released as a single around 1954. [5]

Later versions

As of 2014, more than 60 versions of the song had been recorded. [6]

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References

  1. "Horace Silver – Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. June 19, 2014.
  2. Jenkins Jr., Everett (2001). Pan-African Chronology III. McFarland. p. 472.
  3. Koransky, Jason (March 2004). "The Songs Are My Life". DownBeat . 71 (3): 32–38.
  4. Silver, Horace (2006). Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty: The Autobiography of Horace Silver. University of California Press. p. 203. ISBN   978-0-520-25392-6.
  5. "Reviews of New Jazz Records" (June 19, 1954) The Billboard. p. 40.
  6. McDonough, John (September 2014) "Horace Silver". Down Beat p. 49.