Shirley Horn was both a jazz singer and pianist. She formed her first jazz trio at the age of 20, and collaborated with many legendary 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 near-incomparable musical independence on the piano as she sang. This was an ability described by arranger Johnny Mandel as “like having two heads.” Her rich, lush voice, a smoky contralto, was once described by noted producer and arranger Quincy Jones as “like clothing, as she seduces you with her voice.”
The video above is Nice and Easy, recorded in concert at the 1990 International Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland … and, as the title indicates, it swings comfortably. Below [left] Shirley performs an uptempo Just In Time, at the 1992 Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island … while below [right] she eases back with a haunting rendition of How Insensitive.
Finally, [bottom-most] Shirley Horn reaches for your heartstrings and tugs a bit with a quiet look at life, as she performs Here’s to Life at the 1994 North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. She is backed by the Metropole Orchestra and a sea of lush strings.
