Not that jazz can’t be happy music, but this one is a particularly upbeat thing. “The Preacher” is by Horace Silver, recored first by Silver’s quintet in February of 1955. That would be Silver on piano, with Hank Mobley (tenor saxophone), Kenny Dorham (trumpet), Doug Watkins (bass), and Art Blakey (drums).
According to Silver’ 2007 biography Let’s Get to the Nitty Gritty – The Autobiography of Horace Silver (University of California Press), the song almost didn’t get recorded because the producer thought it was “too old-timey.” No accounting for taste.