"Opus de Funk" (sometimes "Opus De Funk") is a composition by
Horace Silver
Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s.
After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sc ...
. The original version, by Silver's trio, was recorded on November 23, 1953.
Composition
It is "a typical Silver creation: advanced in its harmonic structure and general approach but with a catchy tune and finger-snapping beat." This was an early use of the word "funk" in a song title.
Original recording and release
The piece was first recorded on November 23, 1953, by the Horace Silver Trio, of Silver (piano),
Percy Heath
Percy Heath (April 30, 1923 – April 28, 2005) was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet throughout ...
(bass), and
Art Blakey (drums). It was released with other Silver and Blakey recordings as part of the
Blue Note Records 10-inch ''Horace Silver Trio, Vol. 2 and Art Blakey - Sabu'', then on the 12-inch ''
Horace Silver Trio and Art Blakey-Sabu
''Horace Silver Trio and Art Blakey - Sabu'' is a 1955 compilation album, featuring, primarily the Horace Silver Trio, but also includes two percussion-centric tracks featuring drummer Art Blakey and conga player Sabu. The tracks on this album ...
''. The track was also released as a single around 1954.
Later versions
As of 2014, more than 60 versions of the song had been recorded.
[McDonough, John (September 2014) "Horace Silver". ''Down Beat'' p. 49.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opus de Funk
1953 songs
Compositions by Horace Silver