Monday, January 10, 2022

Songs for Their Fathers

First up we have Låt till Far (Song to my Father), Pers Erik Olsson, composer, with Lisa Rydberg on fiddle and Jonas Knutsson on baritone sax from the album Östbjörka.  Pers Erik was a third generation folk fiddler of acclaim from Dalarna, Sweden who wrote the tune to memorialize his celebrated father, Pers Olof Olsson.  Baritone sax was a really lovely choice for accompaniment in Lisa Rydberg's arrangement.

The tenor sax of Joe Henderson is similarly featured on Horace Silver's 1964 Song for My Father (Cantiga Para Meu Pai), a tune inspired by a trip to Brazil which put him in mind of his Cape Verdean father, John Tavares Silver.  Horace Silver is on piano and the ensemble is rounded out by Carmel Jones on trumpet, Teddy Smith on bass and Roger Humphries on drums.  

I first heard this recording in the latter part of the 70s, so of course the opening would prep my ears for Steely Dan's Rikki Don't Lose that Number from their 1974 album Pretzel Logic.  Now, it works the other way around for me, as it should since I believe Walter Becker and Donald Fagan themselves have acknowledged that the opening of their biggest hit is a nod to Silver's recording.

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