The mix of salsa with Horace Silver’s patented hard bop was a great inspiration for trombonist Conrad Herwig, leading a nonet of Igor Butman/ts, Craig Handy/as-fl, Alex Sipiagin/tp-fh, pianists Michel Camilo and Bill O’Connell alternating along with Ruben Rodriguez/b, Robby Ameen/dr and Richie Flores on congas. Herwig mixes popular Silver pieces with some obscurities, adroitly using his trombone for the classic opening lilt for Camilo’s piano on “Song For My Father” and breezing on a dark rubato for “The Gods Of The Yoruba”. Sipiagin’s horn is sweet, with some peppy front line work on “The Cape Verdean Blues’ and they create some rich textures for the lava like “Silver’s Serenade”. The percussion sizzles like fried rice on the punchy “Nutville” and serves as a pilaf for Herwig’s buttery horn on “Nica’s Dream”. Salsa’d stylings of Silver.