The Horace Silver Quintet of 1959 was a hard bop juggernaut featuring the great pianist and composer with trumpeter Blue Mitchell, saxophonist Junior Cook, bassist Gene Taylor, and drummer Louis Hayes. The band had already cut the excellent album Finger Poppin’ earlier in the year and returned to Van Gelder Studio in the late summer to record the follow-up Blowin’ The Blues Away. From the moment the needle drops on Side 1 the quintet comes flying out of the gate on the blustery title track which succeeds in blowing away any remnants of the blues. Timeless Silver originals like the groovy swinger “Sister Sadie” and the sublime ballad “Peace” are perfect vehicles for this dexterous line-up, while the pianist pares down to a trio for “The St. Vitus Dance” and the stunning closer “Melancholy Mood.”

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.