"Peace" 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 sch ...

that was first recorded on August 29, 1959. It has become a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

.Huey, Stev
"Horace Silver / Horace Silver Quintet – Blowin' the Blues Away"
AllMusic. Retrieved January 18, 2016. Silver also wrote lyrics for the tune.

Composition

According to Silver, "I was doodlin' around on the piano, and it just came to me, but I also had the impression that there was an angel standing over me, impressing my mind with this beautiful melody and harmony." Unusually for popular Silver compositions, "Peace" is a slow ballad. It has a ten-bar structure. Ted Gioia observed that "You won't find a single catchy melodic motif here, no surprising interlude, no harmonic shift that takes the piece in an unexpected direction. Instead the soloist cycles through a series of gentle resolving chords, mostly following a familiar ii-V formula, before settling unobtrusively into the tonic key of B flat."

Recordings

The piece was first recorded on August 29, 1959, by the Horace Silver Quintet consisting of Silver (piano),

Junior Cook Herman "Junior" Cook (July 22, 1934 – February 3, 1992) was an American hard bop tenor saxophone player. Biography Cook was born in Pensacola, Florida. After playing with Dizzy Gillespie in 1958, Cook was a member of the Horace Silver Quin ...

(tenor saxophone),

Blue Mitchell Richard Allen "Blue" Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979) was an American trumpeter and composer who worked in jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock and funk. He recorded albums as leader and sideman for Riverside, Mainstream Records, and Blu ...

(trumpet), Gene Taylor (bass), and

Louis Hayes Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He i ...

(drums). It was released on the

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

album ''

Blowin' the Blues Away ''Blowin' the Blues Away'' is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver, released on the Blue Note label in 1959, featuring performances by Silver with Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, Eugene Taylor, and Louis Hayes. Recording dates and location The ...

''. "Peace has regularly attracted younger musicians". Silver recorded a version with vocals by

Andy Bey Andrew W. Bey (born October 28, 1939) is an American jazz singer and pianist. Bey has a wide vocal range, with a four-octave baritone voice. Raised in Newark, New Jersey,Adler, David R"Andy Bey" ''JazzTimes'', April 25, 2019. Accessed December ...

on '' That Healin' Feelin''' a decade after the original recording.

Bibliography

References

{{reflist 1950s jazz standards 1959 songs Compositions by Horace Silver