The pianist/composer always sought new ways to express his infectious hankering for "that old-time gutbucket barroom feeling." While "Psychedelic Sally" was a jubilantly funky take on the '60s, "Acid, Pot or Pills," with singer Salome Bey, matched gritty lyrics with a sly funk groove on the ambitious United States of Mind trilogy. On 1996's "The Hardbop Grandpop," Silver played with spirited authority while helming a nimble band of all-stars.