Shirley Horn

Shirley Valerie Horn (May 1, 1934 – October 20, 2005) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She collaborated with many jazz musicians including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Ron Carter, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis and others. She was most noted for her ability to accompany herself with nearly incomparable independence and ability on the piano while singing, something described by arranger Johnny Mandel as "like having two heads", and for her rich, lush voice, a smoky contralto, which was described by noted producer and arranger Quincy Jones as "like clothing, as she seduces you with her voice".

Biography Shirley Horn was born on May 1, 1934, and raised in Washington, D.C. Encouraged by her grandmother, an amateur organist, Horn began piano lessons at the age of four. Aged 12, she studied piano and composition at Howard University, later graduating from there in classical music. (A later reissue of Stuff Smith's Verve recordings on Mosaic Records documented Horn's participation and included three Horn vocal performances of George Gershwin songs that were left off the album.)

Horn's Embers and Ashes record attracted the attention of jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, who praised Horn publicly and invited her to play intermission sets during his performances at the Village Vanguard. Davis's praise had particular resonance in two respects: because he was highly respected as a musician, and because he rarely offered public praise for fellow musicians at that time. A 1961 live performance recorded in St. Louis' Gaslight Square district was eventually released on LP under the title "Live" at the Village Vanguard. (A later CD reissue of this material was released under the title At the Gaslight Square 1961).

By 1962, Horn had attracted the attention of Mercury Records vice-president (and jazz arranger) Quincy Jones, who signed Horn to Mercury. On her two Mercury LPs, Horn was placed in a traditional pop setting with medium-sized jazz orchestra, and on neither album did she play piano. According to jazz journalist James Gavin, a third Mercury LP was recorded but never issued, and as of 1993, the tapes for that album were presumed to be lost.

Though she had recorded a song by The Beatles, And I love him (And I love her), on Travelin' Light, Horn for the most part resisted efforts to remake her into a popular singer in the mid-1960s, later saying of such attempts "I will not stoop to conquer." From the late-1960s to the late 1970s, she was semi-retired from music, staying in Washington, D.C., to raise her daughter Rainy with her husband, Sheppard Deering (whom she had married in 1955), and largely limiting her music to local performances. She made one album in 1972 for Perception Records, but the record received little notice, and Horn did not tour to promote it.

In 1978, Horn's career got a boost when SteepleChase Records of Denmark tracked her down in Washington, D.C., and offered to record her with drummer Billy Hart, (whom Horn had known for many years) and bassist Buster Williams. The resulting album, A Lazy Afternoon was the first of a total of four Horn albums released by SteepleChase between 1978 and 1984. Horn also began to play engagements in North America and Europe, including the North Sea Jazz Festival, where two of her albums were recorded.

In 1986, Horn signed a one-record deal with CBS-Sony for the Japanese market and released All of Me, a studio session recorded in New York City with her regular rhythm section, plus guest Frank Wess on three tracks. By early 1987, Verve Records was pursuing a recording contract with her, and in May of that year, the live album I Thought About You, her first for Verve, was recorded in Hollywood. Horn recorded one further session for an independent jazz label (1987's Softly, for Audiophile Records), then returned to Verve. She released a total of 11 studio and live albums for Verve during her lifetime (additional compilation albums added to this total). Horn's most commercially successful years were spent with Verve, and the label helped her find a large international audience.

Miles Davis made a rare appearance as a backing musician on Horn's 1991 album, You Won't Forget Me.

A breast cancer survivor, she had been battling diabetes when she died of complications from the condition, aged 71. She is interred at Ft. Lincoln Cemetery near Washington, D.C. Since her death, concert recordings of Horn have been released on CD and DVD by Resonance Records and Image Entertainment.

Awards and honors Horn was nominated for nine Grammy Awards during her career, winning the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance at the 41st Grammy Awards for I Remember Miles, a tribute to her friend and mentor (the album's cover featuring a Miles Davis drawing of them both).

She was officially recognized by the 109th US Congress for "her many achievements and contributions to the world of jazz and American culture", and performed at The White House for several U.S. presidents. Horn was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music in 2002.

She was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award in 2005 (the highest honors that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians).

Discography As leader Embers and Ashes (Stere-o-Craft, 1961) – recorded in 1960 Loads of Love (Mercury, 1963) – recorded in 1962 Shirley Horn with Horns (Mercury, 1963) Travelin' Light (ABC-Paramount, 1965) Where Are You Going (Perception, 1973) A Lazy Afternoon (SteepleChase, 1979) – recorded in 1978 All Night Long (SteepleChase, 1981) – live Violets for Your Furs (SteepleChase, 1982) – live The Garden of the Blues (SteepleChase, 1985) – live recorded in 1984 I Thought About You (Verve, 1987) – live All of Me (CBS/Sony, 1987) Softly (Audiophile, 1988) Close Enough for Love (Verve, 1989) You Won't Forget Me (Verve, 1991) Here's to Life (Verve, 1992) Light Out of Darkness (A Tribute to Ray Charles) (Verve, 1993) I Love You, Paris (Verve, 1994) – live recorded in 1992 The Main Ingredient (Verve, 1996) – recorded in 1995 Loving You (Verve, 1997) I Remember Miles (Verve, 1998) – recorded in 1997 You're My Thrill (Verve, 2001) May the Music Never End (Verve, 2003) Live at the 1994 Monterey Jazz Festival (Concord, 2008) – live Live at the 4 Queens (Resonance, 2016) – live

As guest Benny Carter, Benny Carter Songbook (MusicMasters, 1996) – recorded in 1995 Bill Charlap, Stardust (Blue Note, 2003) – recorded in 2001 Benny Golson, One Day, Forever (Arkadia Jazz, 2001) – recorded in 1996–2000 Charlie Haden, The Art of the Song (Verve, 1999) Quincy Jones, For Love of Ivy (ABC, 1968) – Soundtrack Carmen McRae, Sarah: Dedicated to You (BMG/Novus, 1991) *piano only Oscar Peterson, A Tribute to Oscar Peterson – Live at the Town Hall (Telarc, 1997) – live recorded in 1996 Jeffery Smith, Ramona (Gitanes/Verve, 1995) Stuff Smith, Cat on a Hot Fiddle (Verve, 1960) – recorded in 1959 Clark Terry Quintet, Live on QE2 (Chiaroscuro, 2001) – live Toots Thielemans, For My Lady (EmArcy, 1991) Joe Williams, In Good Company (Verve, 1989) Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz with Guest Shirley Horn (Jazz Alliance, 2006) – recorded in 1984 Wynton Marsalis, Tune in Tomorrow (Columbia, 1990)

DVD-Video Live at the Village Vanguard (Lucy II, 2006)