Product Description:
Personnel: Horace Silver (piano); James Spaulding (alto saxophone, flute); Tyrone Washington (tenor saxophone); Woody Shaw (trumpet); Larry Ridley (bass); Roger Humphries (drums).
Producer: Alfred Lion.
Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna.
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on November 2 & 23, 1966. Includes liner notes by Leonard Feather.
Although it lacks the high-profile players of its predecessor, THE CAPE VERDEAN BLUES, Horace Silver's THE JODY GRIND is nonetheless one of the pianist/composer's finest albums. Released in 1966, during the middle of Silver's incredible three-decade-spanning stint for Blue Note, the disc consists of groove-laden jazz that mixes hard bop with a subtle dose of funk. The title track lets the horn section, which includes trumpeter Woody Shaw, cut loose, while "Mary Lou" surges forward on Silver's percussive piano lines, and "Blue Silver" settles into a gentle, laid-back vibe.
In addition to Silver and Shaw, the lesser-known musicians on THE JODY GRIND are also in top form, with saxophonists James Spaulding and Tyrone Washington riffing intuitively with Shaw, while drummer Roger Humphries provides rhythms that are energetic, though never overly busy. A potent dose of swinging mid-'60s jazz, THE JODY GRIND may not be as exotic as other Silver outings of the era, but it is no less accomplished.
