Finger Poppin’: A Tribute to Horace Silver with the Michael Weiss Quintet featuring Randy Brecker
4:30–5:45PM, Absopure Waterfront Stage
“Precious few musicians possess a sound as emblematic of successive stylistic movements as Silver's was to hard bop and soul jazz. Fewer still advanced a sound integrating composition and improvisation as thoroughly as Silver, whose ear-grabbing tunes and lean, blues and gospel flavored piano perfectly complemented each other” (JazzTimes).
Detroit Jazz Fest pays tribute to the legendary Horace Silver with the help of one of the most dynamic young pianists in jazz, Michael Weiss. Winner of the 2000 BMI/Thelonious Monk Institute Composers Competition, Weiss has established a formidable reputation, working with such names as Johnny Griffin, Art Farmer and Wynton Marsalis, while also performing with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks, Mingus Epitaph, and Vanguard Jazz Orchestras. And his four recordings as a leader have all received critical acclaim. His latest, Soul Journey (2003) features a collection of original compositions and the award-winning single, “El Camino.”
Joining the Michael Weiss Quintet is special guest Randy Brecker, whose fiery blowing has been shaping the sound of jazz and R&B (and rock) for more than four decades. Brecker also played with Silver in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, appearing on In Pursuit Of The 27th Man (1972). Rounding out the quintet are Wayne Escoffery (tenor saxophone), David Wong (bass) and Pete Van Nostrand (drums).
