Horace Silver helped shape the sound of hard bop, blending blues, gospel, Latin rhythms, and bebop into a music that was both deeply rooted and forward-looking. Silver’s piano style — terse, imaginative, and utterly funky — became a model for subsequent mainstream pianists to emulate. Some of the most influential horn players of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s first attained a measure of prominence with Silver — musicians like Donald Byrd, Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson, Benny Golson, and the Brecker Brothe