Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

"Peace" is a ballad composed by Horace Silver in 1959. Silver was a pioneering pianist and composer at the heart of the hard bop movement, known for funky, blues-drenched classics such as "Song for My Father," "The Preacher," and "Nica's Dream." About this particular composition, Silver recalled, "I was doodlin' around on the piano, and it just came to me, but I also had the impression that there was an angel standing over me."

Unlike Silver's typically upbeat output, "Peace" is a slow ballad performed at around 48 BPM. Its most unusual structural feature is a 10-bar form—reminiscent of "Blue in Green" by Miles Davis and Bill Evans. The harmony cycles through a series of ii-V progressions moving through various tonal centers before settling gently into the tonic key of B♭ major. There are no flashy devices; the beauty lies in the tune's serene simplicity and the spaciousness afforded by the extremely slow tempo.

The original recording appears on the Horace Silver Quintet's album Blowin' the Blues Away (Blue Note, 1959), featuring Blue Mitchell on trumpet and Junior Cook on tenor saxophone. Norah Jones brought the tune to a wider audience with a vocal version on Day Breaks (Blue Note, 2016), featuring Wayne Shorter on saxophone.