Jazz musician Horace Silver, who pioneered the style known as hard bop, has died aged 85.

Alongside drummer Art Blakey, Silver founded one of the original hard bop bands, the Jazz Messengers, in 1952. He wrote the majority of the songs on their first album before leaving the band in 1955 to go solo. He then began a lengthy relationship with Blue Note, recording more than 20 albums for the iconic jazz imprint.

His best known compositions include ‘The Preacher’, ‘Filthy McNasty’ and ‘Song for My Father’, which was inspired by the Cape Verdean folk music he heard in his youth and later formed the basis of Steely Dan’s ‘Rikki Don’t Lose That Number’.

Silver passed away at home in New Rochelle, NY. He is survived by his son, Gregory.