Blowin' the Blues Away

Blowin' the Blues Away is an album by the Horace Silver Quintet & Trio, recorded at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on August 29–30 and September 13, 1959, and released on Blue Note later that year. The quintet features horn section Blue Mitchell and Junior Cook and rhythm section Eugene Taylor and Louis Hayes.

Reception

In a contemporary review, Ralph J. Gleason called Blowin' the Blue Away a "lovely album" full of "fire and brimstone.... There is an esprit de combo here which is great to find.... We’re going to be playing this one for a long time, I suspect."

The ninth edition of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings places the album among its suggested "Core Collection" of essential recordings, saying that it exemplifies Silver's "virtues as pianist, composer and leader".

The AllMusic review by Steve Huey states, "Blowin' the Blues Away is one of Horace Silver's all-time Blue Note classics... one of Silver's finest albums, and it's virtually impossible to dislike."

Track listing

Personnel

August 29–30, 1959

The Horace Silver Quintet

• Blue Mitchell – trumpet
• Junior Cook – tenor saxophone
• Horace Silver – piano
• Eugene Taylor – bass
• Louis Hayes – drums

September 13, 1959

The Horace Silver Trio

• Horace Silver – piano
• Eugene Taylor – bass
• Louis Hayes – drums

Technical personnel

• Alfred Lion – production
• Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer
• Reid Miles – design
• Francis Wolff – photography
• Paula Donohue – cover art

References