Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Donald Byrd (trumpet), Horace Silver (piano), Doug Watkins (bass) and Louis Hayes (drums). From the album 6 Pieces of Silver (1957).
Donald Byrd was an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpet player. He had a great influence on Herbie Hancock early in his career. He was one of the best hard bop trumpeters who also played soul and funk, and recorded extensively from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s.
Donald Byrd
He was a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, but separated from them in 1956 and joined Max Roach. He also began to lead his own groups and work as a studio musician. He played with John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Red Garland, and in 1958 formed a group with baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams that dissolved in 1961.
Silver gives an introduction to the theme, which has become a jazz standard, and then the rest of the group joins in by playing a quiet main melody, but raising the volume on the bridge. The first one to make his solo is Byrd, that feels inspired and combine intense phrases with softer ones. Next comes Mobley performing a peaceful solo that gradually gains strength. After that, the group plays a pre-established arrangement giving way to Silver, who makes a moderate, but very bluesy solo. At last, the group re-exposes the theme.
