![]() It was sappy, naïve, schlocky, anti-jazz. And so I sought out The United States of Mind with great trepidation. I love the old-man Silver of The Hard Bop Grandpop. I love the soul-jazz Silver of The Jody Grind and Serenade to a Soul Sister. I love the bluesy post-bop Silver of Song For My Father and The Cape Verdean Blues. I love the hard bop Silver of the early Jazz Messengers. I love every phase of Horace Silver's long career. Prepare for Disappointment Let's start with this premise: I love Horace Silver. Where did it end? Some say the low point came in 1970 to 1972 with three Horace Silver albums known collectively as The United States of Mind. And then, one day in the 1970spoof! It was all gone. In the 1960s, it produced the best soul-jazz on earth. In the 1950s, Blue Note was the greatest source of hard bop. At what point did Blue Note Records jump the shark? Is there a single moment when Blue Note stopped being the world's greatest purveyor of jazz and instead became an irrelevant producer of schlock? Truth is, it was a long, slow slide.
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