BLP 4110

Horace Silver - The Tokyo Blues

Released - September 1962

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, July 13, 1962
Blue Mitchell, trumpet; Junior Cook, tenor sax; Horace Silver, piano; Gene Taylor, bass; John Harris Jr., drums.

tk.3 The Tokyo Blues
tk.9 Sayanora Blues

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, July 14, 1962
Blue Mitchell, trumpet #1,3; Junior Cook, tenor sax #1,3; Horace Silver, piano; Gene Taylor, bass; John Harris Jr., drums.

tk.20 Ah! So
tk.21 Cherry Blossom
tk.24 Too Much Sake

Session Photos

Photos: Francis Wolff/Mosaic Images / 
https://www.mosaicrecordsimages.com/

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Too Much Sake	Horace Silver	14 July 1962
Sayonara Blues	Horace Silver	13 July 1962
Side Two
The Tokyo Blues	Horace Silver	13 July 1962
Cherry Blossom	Ronnell Bright	14 July 1962
Ah! So	Horace Silver	14 July 1962

Liner Notes

This album is dedicated to all of our many fans in Japan and to all of the Japanese people who were so very kind to us while we were making our concert tour there. It is our wish to return again some day soon. While in Japan, I noticed that the Japanese people were very fond of Latin music, which I also am very fond of. In writing some of these compositions I have attempted to combine the Japanese feeling in the melodies with the Latin feelìng in the rhythms. I hope you enjoy them.

- Horace Silver

LONG before Silver’s Quintet came to Japan for a series of concerts, Japanese music lovers had learned all about Horace and his music. The music magazines ran a complete discography of Silver’s works (which is rarely seen in U.S. jazz magazines), the historical background of Silver groups, and detailed reviews of his records. A Japanese critic even argued, in one mazagine, about the pronunciation of Horace’s name. The critic explained that ‘Horace’ ought to be pronounced the same as that of the ancient Roman poet and satirist, Quintus Horatius (pronounced horashus) Flaccus.

Silver and his Quintet arrived in Tokyo on December 30th, only two days before New Year’s Day, 1962. The first week of the New Year is one of the most important holidays in Japanese life. The New Year for the Japanese people means a cleansing of the past, and preparing for a new way of life. Horace’s music brought the Japanese music lovers a new fortune: another eye-opener to modern music.

After Horace returned to the U.S., deep feelings for the Oriental melodies remained with him. He began by writing one tune thinking he might record it someday, and then, after a short while, he composed enough numbers to make an album dedicated to his memories of Tokyo.

Too Much Sake (pronounced sakeh). Horace noticed immediately that people in Japan seem to spend much more time for dinner than we do. They go from soup to nuts and have a big feast. There is more talk and relaxation during the dinner. The Japanese made no exceptions in turning every dinner into a feast for Horace and the members of his Quintet. Horace quickly learned to operate chopsticks. and enjoyed all his meals from Sukiyaki to pickled turnips.

One of Japan’s finest drummers, Hideo Shiraki was a constant companion of Horace during his stay in Tokyo. One night, Horace, the band members, and Shiraki went out to a Sukiyaki restaurant. Trying for the first time the taste of warm Sake, Horace and the boys enjoyed the wine as well as the dinner. Horace recalls the night as follows: “We were riding in a cab hack to the hotel after dinner. Everybody was feeling good. Then, we were about to fall asleep. Sake is not really strong. hut it does sneak up on you.” Shiraki was with them, and when he saw everybody dozing off from the effect of the Sake he smiled understandingly, and said, “Too much Sake.” ( In October 62, Shiraki will do a concert of Horace Silver tunes in Tokyo which will be recorded and released in Japan. )

The gentle phrases of the theme are followed by veteran horn blowers, Blue Mitchell and Junior Cook giving out the pleasant feeling of soft, steady notes in their solos. Horace follows them in an extended performance. The number ends with a distinctly Oriental touch.

Of Sayonara Blues, Horace says, ‘The feeling expressed in this tune is mixed with happy and sad emotions.” Horace’s concert tour of Japan was one of the happiest ones in his life. His amiable disposition brought him many new fan% and strengthened old friendships. But, the more pleasant a trip has been, the sadder are the farewells.

Horace's solo on this tune strikes me as exceptionally well-balanced. The music gradually develops through a continuous repetition of a basic rhythm, and it strongly sustains the feeling of suspense until the end.

The Tokyo Blues, the title tune of the album, has the most authentic Japanese melody. As Horace recalls his visit, “We enjoyed everything there, but we enjoyed Tokyo most of all. We toured many cities, but when we came back to Tokyo, we felt we came back home.” The audiences of the Tokyo concerts received the group with especially warm responses. Being familiar with Horace’s tunes from his records, the audience kept time to his music by tapping the beat on the floor and calling out loudly “Iizo” (meaning “Yeah”) in approval. One lady of about 40 came to hear the Quintet every night for four or five consecutive concerts, and told Horace that although she was a classical pianist, she enjoyed his music very much. On many occasions, when Horace was visiting night clubs, the band on stage spotted his entrance and immediately started playing one of his compositions. Such warm feelings of the people in Japan have become the basis of these memories.

On his return from Japan, Horace first introduced The Tokyo Blues at the showboat in Philadelphia. Ever since then he has played it, together with the other new numbers, at almost every club engagement. This method of performance is a chief attribute of the success of his records for he always writes and rehearses the originals in this manner until they are played to perfection.

Cherry Blossom was composed by Ronnell Bright. Horace has known Bright since they met in Chicago some years ago. Bright used to be the accompanist for Sarah Vaughan. He is the writer of Missing You recorded by Miss Vaughan, and Sweet Pumpkin recorded by Gloria Lynn.

Pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi once pointed out that too many musicians nowadays ruin the original meaning of the ballad by playing it in a rapid tempo. Horace is one of the few musicians who truly appreciates the ballad, and knowing also Bright's affection for the ballad. Horace asked him to write a number for his forthcoming album. The result is this slow, moving ballad.

Ah !So is the most complex tune of all in this album. It does not have a Latin beat like the others. The theme of this number is unusual; while the melody is played out of tempo, the solos are played in temp. After several playings of the composition, the melody seemed to automatically suggest the title to Horace.

Throughout the album credit should also be given to bassist Gene Taylor for his excellent support in the rhythm section. The drummer John Harris Jr. keeps swinging at all times. His beat is emphatic, yet not obtrusive. Having heard him play in Connecticut, Horace brought him to New York to join the band during the illness of Roy Brooks. Harris was lucky to join the group just 10 days before they went to Japan.

I have rarely met a musician who is as friendly and responsive as Horace. His fans are spread all over the world, This spring, when a daughter was born to a family in Johannesburg, the father who was an old fan of Horace asked him to give a name for the baby. And then, just last month a boy from Paris came to see Horace at the Village Gate in New York, and although he hardly spoke any English, he knew all of Horace’s numbers by heart.

In the spun of two weeks Horace Silver and his Quintet made an everlasting impression among the music lovers of Japan. Through hiis performances and personal contacts a number of friendships were born, to which, in this record, Horace Silver dedicates his music. I believe that this presentation is one of the best Horace has ever made.

—ATSUHIKO KAWABATA

Cover Photo by FRANCIS WOLFF
Cover Design by REID MILES
Recording by RUDY VAN GELDER

Blue Mitchell performs by courtesy of Riverside Records.