Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers

1	Room 608 5:22
2	Creepin' In 7:26
3	Stop Time 4:07
4	To Whom It May Concern 5:11
5	Hippy 5:23
6	The Preacher 4:18
7	Hankerin' 5:18
8	Doodlin' 6:45

Barnes & Noble

Before they went on to lead the two postgraduate schools of hard bops, pianist Horace Silver and drummer Art Blakey were part of this unified edition of the Jazz Messengers, a name Blakey had used before these 1954 and '55 dates and would go on to use, quite famously, for the rest of his life. Here, with Silver's compositions making up seven of the eight tunes, the template for the next decade of hard bop is established: three parts bebop mingled with two parts blues, finished with a splash of gospel. The horns are the soulful Kenny Dorham on trumpet and the soulful Hank Mobley on piano, the bassist is the soulful Doug Watkins, and the selections include two early Silver standards, "The Preacher" and "Doodlin'." This band would go on to record a live classic at the Cafe Bohemia (under Blakey's name) and then Silver and Blakey would split and, separately, alter jazz history. Lee Jeske

All Music Guide

A true classic, this CD found pianist Horace Silver and drummer Art Blakey co-leading the Jazz Messengers; Silver would leave a year later to form his own group. Also featuring trumpeter Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley on tenor, and bassist Doug Watkins, this set is most notable for the original versions of Silver's "The Preacher" and "Doodlin'," funky standards that helped launch hard bop and both the Jazz Messengers and Silver's quintet. Essential music. Scott Yanow