Camouflage

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).

In 1970, Silver dissolved his group to devote himself to his family, compose and study spirituality. He included lyrics in some of his songs, but the albums in which they appeared were a failure. In 1973 he formed a touring group, whose members included brothers Michael and Randy Brecker.

In 1975 he recorded Silver ‘n Brass, the first of his five Silver' n albums, and the band’s musicians were constantly changing. In 1981 he began to cut back on his performances in order to spend more time with his son (he had divorced his wife in the mid-1970s). He continued to write lyrics for some of his songs that reflected his thoughts on spirituality and self-help, but they were not always incorporated into the albums.

The group exposes the theme at medium-fast tempo and has a special melody. The first one to appear is Mobley, whose solo is harmonically impeccable and uses all kinds of musical resources. Silver follows him, who starts his solo in a very bluesy way and continues to master the instrument to perfection. Byrd then enters, linking his phrases in a balanced way and following the structure of the theme, whose re-exposure follows.