Senor Blues

Unlike many young musicians, pianist David Hazeltine paid extensive dues working and recording as a sideman before a productive flurry of dates of his own during the late '90s, as he neared his 40th birthday. This studio session for the Japanese label Venus, with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Louis Hayes, focuses exclusively on the works of Horace Silver. While most of these songs were originally recorded by Silver with brass, the trio's solid interaction carries the day on its own, through a pulsing take of "Nica's Dream," the infectious "Senor Blues," and a driving interpretation of Silver's best-known composition, "Song for My Father." One would think that Silver himself would be impressed with Hazeltine's excellent tribute to him, if he's had an opportunity to hear it. Highly recommended.