Serenade to a Soul Sister

Serenade to a Soul Sister
Studio album by Horace Silver
Released	Early June 1968 [1]
Recorded	February 23 and March 29, 1968
Studio	Van Gelder, Englewood Cliffs
Genre	Jazz
Length	37:54
Label	Blue Note BST 84277
Producer	Francis Wolff
Horace Silver chronology
The Jody Grind (1966) Serenade to a Soul Sister (1968) You Gotta Take a Little Love (1969)

Serenade to a Soul Sister is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver, released on the Blue Note label in 1968 and featuring performances by Silver with Charles Tolliver, Stanley Turrentine, Bennie Maupin, Bob Cranshaw, John Williams, Mickey Roker and Billy Cobham. ^[2]

The album was re-mastered, for the CD release in the 24-bit series, by Rudy Van Gelder, in 2004. ^[3]

Silver's guidelines to musical composition

The album's liner notes include Silver's guidelines to musical composition:

a. Melodic Beauty

b. Meaningful Simplicity

c. Harmonic Beauty

d. Rhythm

e. Environmental, Hereditary, Regional, and Spiritual Influences ^{[4] [5]}

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
DownBeat	[7]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[8]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[9]

AllMusic writer Steve Huey stated:

One of the last great Horace Silver albums for Blue Note, Serenade to a Soul Sister is also one of the pianist's most infectiously cheerful, good-humored outings... You'd never know this album was recorded in one of the most tumultuous years in American history, but as Silver says in the liner notes' indirect jab at the avant-garde, he simply didn't believe in allowing 'politics, hatred, or anger' into his music. Whether you agree with that philosophy or not, it's hard to argue with musical results as joyous and tightly performed as Serenade to a Soul Sister. ^[6]

Track listing

All compositions by Horace Silver.

1. "Psychedelic Sally" – 7:14
2. "Serenade to a Soul Sister" – 6:19
3. "Rain Dance" – 6:21
4. "Jungle Juice" – 6:46
5. "Kindred Spirits" – 5:55
6. "Next Time I Fall in Love" – 5:19

Personnel

Musicianson tracks 1 – 3 (February 23, 1968)

• Horace Silver – piano
• Charles Tolliver – trumpet
• Stanley Turrentine – tenor saxophone
• Bob Cranshaw – bass, electric bass (on track 1)
• Mickey Roker – drums

on tracks 4 – 6 (March 29, 1968)

• Horace Silver – piano
• Charles Tolliver – trumpet (exc. track 6)
• Bennie Maupin – tenor saxophone (exc. track 6)
• John Williams – bass
• Billy Cobham – drums

Production

• Francis Wolff – production
• Rudy Van Gelder – engineering
• Forlenza Venosa Associates – design
• Billy Cobham (Cover), Francis Wolff (Interior) – photography

References

1. Billboard June 1, 1968
2. Horace Silver discography accessed November 23, 2009.
3. "The Horace Silver Quintet Featuring Stanley Turrentine – Serenade to a Soul Sister (2004, Paper Sleeve, CD)". Discogs .
4. Rosenthal, David H. (September 9, 1993). Hard Bop: Jazz and Black Music 1955-1965. Oxford University Press. p. 36. ISBN   978-0-19-535899-5.
5. Kirchner, Bill (July 14, 2005). The Oxford Companion to Jazz. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 382. ISBN   978-0-19-518359-7.
6. Huey, S.AllMusic Review accessed November 23, 2009.
7. DownBeat: April 3, 1969 vol. 36, no. 7.
8. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1299. ISBN   978-0-14-103401-0.
9. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 181. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.