The Preacher

The Preacher is a composition by Horace Silver. The original version was recorded by Silver's quintet in February, 1955. It was soon covered by other musicians, including with lyrics added by Babs Gonzales. It has become a jazz standard. The Preacher is based on the chords of Show Me the Way to Go Home, which Silver often used to end his concerts. He wrote it in the Arlington Hotel on Twenty-Fifth Street in New York City, where he lived for four years from 1954. It featured Silver on piano, with Hank Mobley (tenor saxophone), Kenny Dorham (trumpet), Doug Watkins (bass), and Art Blakey (drums). Fired by the song's rocking beat, Dorham and Mobley soar into blues-drenched, vocally inflected solos. Silver followed with a typically stripped-down statement, built around first a two-chord percussive figure and then a descending run, each repeated. Before taking the tune out, the band riffs behind his funky noodling in classic call-and- response fashion. The gospel influence was achieved subtly with a melody and associated riffs which had a natural built-in back-beat.

Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 1928 – June 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 school in Connecticut, Silver got his break on piano when his trio was recruited by Stan Getz in 1950. Silver soon moved to New York City, where he developed a reputation as a composer and for his bluesy playing. Frequent sideman recordings in the mid-1950s helped further, but it was his work with the Jazz Messengers, co-led by Art Blakey, that brought both his writing and playing most attention. Their Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers album contained Silver's first hit, The Preacher. As a player, Silver transitioned from bebop to hard bop by stressing melody rather than complex harmony and combined clean and often humorous right-hand lines with darker notes and chords in a near-perpetual left-hand rumble. His compositions similarly emphasized catchy melodies, but often also contained dissonant harmonies. Silver's legacy as a composer may be greater than as a pianist, because his works, many of which are jazz standards, continue to be performed and recorded worldwide.

Jock McKenzie studied trumpet at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester where he was a joint recipient of the college’s concerto prize. Since 1987 Jock has based his musical career in Hampshire, working as a freelance trumpeter, conductor, composer, arranger and brass teacher. Currently Jock holds the position of Professional Leader (Brass) for Hampshire Music Service and is the Director of the Hampshire County Youth Band. It is the mix of all of these musical roles that has led to Jock establishing a reputation as a leading creator of brass music resources, particularly in the field of education and brass ensemble music. In 2020 Jock was awarded an “Honorary Fellowship of the University of Winchester” for services to music education. Currently Jock is working part-time for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; providing tuition for their Brass Teaching Module. In 2024 Jock was given the award for “Services to Youth” by Brass Bands England.