Finger Poppin’: The Legacy of Horace Silver with the Buffalo Jazz Composers Workshop

Jazz at The Taylor presents The Buffalo Jazz Composers Workshop performing “Finger Poppin’–The Legacy of Horace Silver.” Tickets on sale now.

Pianist Horace Silver, who would have turned 90 this year, was one of the most celebrated and influential composers of the back-to-basics, hard bop era. His distinctive tunes featured direct, memorable melodies, rhythmic and melodic hooks, and clear song forms, all informed by the blues. Silver expanded his compositional palette by incorporating soul, gospel, Latin, and later, rock influences into his writing. He was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 1995 and received a President’s Merit Award from the Recording Academy in 2005.

The Buffalo Jazz Composers Workshop will celebrate this musical innovator with an evening of original compositions influenced by and responding to Silver’s legacy. The Workshop is a sextet bringing together some of Buffalo’s best jazz musicians to focus on the art of small group composition.

The Buffalo Jazz Composers Workshop is Kelly Bucheger, alto & tenor saxophones; Tim Clarke, trumpet & flugel; Jared Tinkham, guitar; Alec Dube, vibes; Joe Goehle, bass; John Bacon, drums. Bacon, Clarke, and Dube are this year’s JazzBuffalo poll winners on their instruments; Bucheger, past winner for his group What Would Mingus Do? has also delighted audiences at the Taylor Theater.

Finger Poppin’ — The Legacy of Horace Silver is the third in a series of six programs in the Jazz at The Taylor concert series, produced by Kathleen Rooney in collaboration with the Kenan Center. The show begins at 7:30 PM in the converted carriage house on the Kenan Center’s campus, providing an intimate, club-like atmosphere. The concert features two full sets of music with refreshments available.

Tickets are $15 for Kenan Center members and $20 for the general public. Tickets are available online at Ticketleap, in person at the Kenan Center Business Office, or can be charged by calling 433-2617 (service fees apply to online and phone orders). Ample free parking is available onsite. The Taylor Theater is located on the campus of the Kenan Center at 433 Locust Street in Lockport, NY. Because seating is limited, advance tickets are recommended.

Click on the orange Purchase Ticket button below to get tickets online.