"Horace passed away this morning at 85 years of age," the famed jazz label said in a statement, while NPR public radio -- quoting Silver's son -- said he passed away due to natural causes.
Born in Connecticut as Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva into a family with roots in Cape Verde, Silver was influenced at an early age by folk music from the Portuguese-speaking islands off West Africa.
He started off playing tenor saxophone, but later adopted the piano, toured with sax man Stan Getz and settled in New York, where he began a 25-year relationship with Blue Note records.
His first album, with his Jazz Messengers combo, is regarded as a milestone in the development of hard bop, which drew inspiration from rhythm and blues, gospel and blues.
"Silver's piano style -- terse, imaginative, and utterly funky -- became a model for subsequent mainstream pianists to emulate," said Blue Note in a profile of the artist on its website.
His many classic songs include "Doodlin'," "Senor Blues," "Sister Sadie," "Peace" and "Song for My Father."
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