Horace Silver Finger Poppin

Blowin' the Blues Away is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver, released on the Blue Note label in 1959 featuring performances by Silver with Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, Eugene Taylor, and Louis Hayes. The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4½ stars and states "Blowin' the Blues Away is one of Horace Silver's all-time Blue Note classics… one of Silver's finest albums, and it's virtually impossible to dislike".

Trumpeter Blue Mitchell made his name when he was a member of the Horace Silver Quintet, who were at the vanguard of the soul jazz movement in the late 50s-early 60s and recorded several best-selling albums for Blue Note: Finger Poppin', Blowin' The Blues Away and The Tokyo Blues. When the Quintet disbanded, Mitchell formed his own combo and signed to Blue Note direct. Over the next five years he made eight albums including The Thing To Do and Down With It! which continued to define soulful jazz. He championed young talent, employing drummer Al Foster and pianist Chick Corea. In the early 70s he signed to Bob Shad's Mainstream Records at a point where he was a successful session player, utilised by John Mayall and Ray Charles, among others. This, his debut album as solo artist, is a magnificent, largely acoustic, session unusual for this period. Its five tracks of swinging soul jazz, include Mi Hermano, a big club spin for Gilles Peterson.