SHIRLEY HORN - The Garden of the Blues (1984) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Shirley Horn covers several works by composer Curtis Lewis (who passed away prematurely at the age of 51 in 1969) in this 1984 trio concert at Florida Memorial College. Horn, who was introduced to Lewis by her manager, John Levy, during her debut recording session in 1960, recorded several of his works over her career, including "All Night Long," but the bittersweet nature of many of the songs heard in this performance is carried off beautifully by the singing pianist, particularly "He's Gone Again." The last four tracks comprising Lewis' "The Garden of the Blues Suite" are part narrative and part song, including the well-known composition "The Great City." Horn is in top form throughout the concert, with her soft, thoughtful vocals accompanied by her sensitive and sometimes swinging piano. Bassist Charles Ables and drummer Steve Williams provide terrific support as needed, though they sometimes lay out for a significant spell. by Ken Dryden
Tracklist :
1     Introduction 0:24
Curtis Lewis
2     He's Gone Again 6:10
Curtis Lewis
3     Old Country 4:59
Curtis Lewis
4     Roaming Lover 5:19
Curtis Lewis
5     The Garden of the Blues Suite: Blue City 5:48
Curtis Lewis
6     The Garden of the Blues Suite: What Would a Woman Do? 5:48
Curtis Lewis
7     The Garden of the Blues Suite: He Never Mentioned Love 6:57
Curtis Lewis
8     The Garden of the Blues Suite: The Great City 3:56
Curtis Lewis
Credits :
Bass – Charles Ables
Percussion – Steve Williams
Piano – Shirley Horn

SHIRLEY HORN - Close Enough for Love (1989) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Shirley Horn's second Verve recording consolidated the success that she had had with her previous release, I Thought About You, and resulted in her gaining a large audience for her ballad vocals and solid jazz piano playing. Performing with her usual trio (which includes bassist Charles Ables and drummer Steve Williams) and guest tenor Buck Hill on five of the 13 tracks, Horn is heard in definitive form throughout these studio sessions. Highlights include "Beautiful Friendship," "Baby, Baby All the Time," "This Can't Be Love," "I Wanna Be Loved," "But Beautiful," "Get out of Town," and "It Could Happen to You." by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     A Beautiful Friendship 3:42
Donald Kahn / Stanley Styne
2     I Got Lost in His Arms 4:15
Irving Berlin
3     Baby, Baby All the Time 2:40
Bobby Troup
4     Close Enough for Love 4:44
Johnny Mandel / Paul Williams
5     This Can't Be Love 2:45
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
6     I Wanna Be Loved 4:29
Johnny Green / Edward Heyman / Billy Rose
7     Come Fly With Me 4:00
Sammy Cahn / James Van Heusen
8     Once I Loved (O Amor en Paz) 6:50
Ray Gilbert / Antônio Carlos Jobim / Vinícius de Moraes
9     But Beautiful 4:32
Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen
10     Get Out of Town 2:42
Cole Porter
11     Memories of You 7:23
Eubie Blake / Andy Razaf
12     It Could Happen to You 2:48
Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen
13     So I Love You 3:15
Carroll Coates
Credits :
Bass – Charles Ables
Drums – Steve Williams
Tenor Saxophone – Buck Hill
Vocals, Piano – Shirley Horn 

SHIRLEY HORN - You Won't Forget Me (1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

With 1991's You Won't Forget Me, Shirley Horn's star continued to rise. While mostly ballads, this recording also includes swinging takes on "I Just Found Out About Love" and "Foolin' Myself." Toots Thielemans stars with his distinctive harmonica sound on "Beautiful Love" and "Soothe Me," and the unmistakable trumpet of Miles Davis weaves around Horn's vocal on the title track. The opening medley moves from the almost-whispered ballad "The Music That Makes Me Dance," to a funkily midtempo "Come Dance with Me." "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" is absolutely gorgeous, with Wynton Marsalis stepping in to trade phrases with Horn's voice. The music here is mostly taken at a very leisurely tempo, and the spare arrangements allow plenty of room for the music to breathe, proving that less is often more. The only complaint is that such spaciousness generates is a certain sameness to the material, but this is leavened by the guest appearances of Thielemans, Davis, the brothers Marsalis, and tenorman Buck Hill. by Jim Newsom
Tracklist :
1     The Music That Makes Me Dance 6:32
Bob Merrill / Jule Styne
2     Come Dance with Me 2:47
Sammy Cahn / James Van Heusen
3     Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying 5:58
Joe Greene
Trumpet – Wynton Marsalis
4     Beautiful Love 3:38
Haven Gillespie / Wayne King / Egbert VanAlstyne / Victor Young
Harmonica, Guitar – Toots Thielemans
5     Come Back to Me 3:43
Burton Lane / Alan Jay Lerner
6     Too Late Now 6:00
Burton Lane / Alan Jay Lerner
7     I Just Found Out About Love 2:24
Harold Adamson / Jimmy McHugh
8     It Had to Be You 6:49
Isham Jones / Gus Kahn
Saxophone [Tenor] – Branford Marsalis
9     Soothe Me 3:31
Joe Greene
Harmonica, Guitar – Toots Thielemans
10     Foolin' Myself 2:46
Jack Lawrence / Peter Tinturin
11     If You Go 8:57
Michel Emer / Geoffrey Parsons
12     You Stepped Out of a Dream 3:44
Nacio Herb Brown / Gus Kahn
Guitar – Charles Ables
13     You Won't Forget Me 7:12
Kermit Goell / Fred Spielman
Trumpet – Miles Davis
14     All My Tomorrows 6:22
Sammy Cahn / James Van Heusen
Credits :
Bass – Buster Williams (faixas: 5, 10, 12), Charles Ables (faixas: 1 to 3, 6 to 8, 11, 13, 14)
Drums – Billy Hart (faixas: 5, 10, 12), Steve Williams (faixas: 1 to 3, 6 to 8, 11, 13, 14)
Piano, Vocals, Arranged By – Shirley Horn
   

SHIRLEY HORN - I Love You, Paris (1992) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The highlights of a 2½-hour concert recorded in Paris, this CD has even more ballads than a typical Shirley Horn set because, due to the monitor malfunctioning during the second half of the performance, Horn chose to stick exclusively to ballads during that portion of the show. Accompanied by bassist Charles Ables and drummer Steve Williams, Horn is in peak form throughout this program, often sounding exquisite and using silence and pauses quite expertly. Among the highlights are "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," "Do It Again," a medley of "I Loves You Porgy" and "Here Comes De Honey Man," and a lengthy version of "A Song for You" that eventually becomes "Goodbye." Highly recommended. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Wouldn't It Be Loverly? 6:23
Alan Jay Lerner / Frederick Loewe
2     Just in Time 3:13
Betty Comden / Adolph Green / Jule Styne
3     He Was Too Good to Me 4:51
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
4     Do It Again 8:17
Buddy DeSylva / George Gershwin
5     Old Country 5:37
Curtis Lewis
6     It's Easy to Remember 6:39
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
7     All Through the Night 2:32
Cole Porter
8     L.A. Breakdown 6:47
Larry Marks
9     I Loves You, Porgy/Here Comes de Honey Man 9:45
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin / DuBose Heyward
10     A Song for You/Goodbye 12:54
Gordon Jenkins / Leon Russell
11     That Old Devil Called Love 7:33
Doris Fisher / Allan Roberts
Credits :   
Bass – Charles Ables
Drums – Steve Williams
Piano, Vocals – Shirley Horn 

SHIRLEY HORN - You're My Thrill (2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

With the swanky midnight mood of their previous collaboration Here's to Life in mind, Shirley Horn and arranger Johnny Mandel go at it again -- a move that is sure to send her legions of latter-day fans into blissful orbit. This time, though, the six sophisticated string-laden ballads are interspersed with five relatively short, swinging numbers with just Horn, her trio, and various instrumental guests. As a result, you get a better balanced album, not weighted too much in one direction or another. Mandel's orchestrations are paragons of subtlety, sometimes creeping almost imperceptibly like a slow moving fog upon Horn's trio. Like his singer, Mandel respects the value of silence and space; they're a well matched pair, their different ideas of timing dovetail together neatly. Though some of us would have wanted Horn and her jazzmen to stretch out more on the small group tracks, they do serve effectively as breathers, or intermezzos, in between the languorous collaborations with Mandel. In lieu of the participation of Wynton Marsalis (who contributed to Here's to Life), Carl Saunders offers some soulful trumpet obbligato work on "Solitary Moon." Guitarist Russell Malone and bassist Brian Bromberg also appear on the small group tracks -- Malone even does a soft focused rockabilly thing on "Why Don't You Do Right?" -- while bassist Charles Ables and drummer Steve Williams stoke the rhythm in Horn's trio. Another worthy stylish outing for Horn. by Richard S. Ginell  
Tracklist :
1     You're My Thrill 4:46
Bass – Charles Ables
Drums – Steve Williams
Vibraphone – Larry Bunker
Written-By – Jay Gorney, Sidney Clare   
2     The Best Is Yet to Come 2:37
Bass – Brian Bromberg
Drums – Steve Williams
Written-By – Carolyn Leigh, Cy Coleman
3     Solitary Moon 5:06
Bass – Chuck Domanico
Drums – Steve Schaeffer
Guitar – Dori Caymmi
Piano – Alan L. Broadbent
Trumpet – Carl Saunders
Vibraphone – Larry Bunker
Written-By – Alan & Marilyn Bergman, Johnny Mandel
4     Sharing the Night With the Blues 3:00
Bass – Brian Bromberg
Drums – Steve Williams
Guitar – Russell Malone
Written-By – Emanuel Logan
5     I Got Lost in His Arms 4:52
Bass – Charles Ables
Drums – Steve Williams
Vibraphone – Larry Bunker
Written-By – Irving Berlin
6     The Rules of the Road 3:37
Bass – Brian Bromberg
Drums – Steve Williams
Guitar – Russell Malone
Written-By – Carolyn Leigh, Cy Coleman
7     My Heart Stood Still 4:39
Bass – Charles Ables
Drums – Steve Williams
Vibraphone – Larry Bunker
Written-By – Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart
8     You'd Better Love Me (While You May) 1:58
Bass – Brian Bromberg
Drums – Steve Williams
Written-By – Hugh Martin, Timothy Gray
9     The Very Thought of You 5:14
Bass – Charles Ables
Drums – Steve Williams
Vibraphone – Larry Bunker
Written-By – Ray Noble
10     Why Don't You Do Right? 2:45
Bass – Brian Bromberg
Drums – Steve Williams
Guitar – Russell Malone
Written-By – Joel McCoy
11     All Night Long 7:44
Bass – Charles Ables
Drums – Steve Williams
Vibraphone – Larry Bunker
Written-By – Curtis Lewis      

SHIRLEY HORN - May the Music Never End (2003) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Shirley Horn has made a remarkably strong and consistent series of records for Verve. On May the Music Never End, her 12th record for Verve, there are two big changes: the absence of Horn's longtime musical partner bassist Charles Ables, who passed away in 2001, and the addition of a pianist to take the place of Horn's quite capable playing. Ed Howard fills in admirably on bass and George Mesterhazy does the same on piano, except for on two tracks ("Maybe September" and "This is All I Ask") where Ahmad Jamal takes over. Horn's trademark sound is the sparse, languid torch song, with atmospheric piano chords and her gentle and soulful vocals caressing the notes as she slowly lets them ease into the listener's ear. Most of the album is in this downcast, nocturnal mood: the highlights are her smoldering version of the Jacques Brel-Rod McKuen song "If You Go Away," the bossa nova-influenced "Watch What Happens," and the heartbreaking and bleak "Ill Wind." She also does a very nice job with the Gordon Jenkins-penned "September of My Years"-style ballad "This Is All I Ask" and the emotional "May the Music Never End." These two tracks taken together almost sound like Horn saying goodbye to music and the world of jazz and will really bring a lump to the throat of Horn fans. She breaks up the somber mood with a few swinging tracks: the rollicking take on "Forget Me"; the lightly swinging "Take Love Easy," with some nice Roy Hargrove obbligatos; and the martial "Everything Must Change," which features one of Horn's most dramatic vocals and a wonderful moment three and a half minutes into the song where the tight rhythm bursts open and the band hits a big up-tempo groove with Horn soaring over top. The only real clunker here is her version of the Beatles' "Yesterday," a song that has been done just about every way possible. Here Horn cuts the tempo, adds some atmosphere, and actually manages to over sing the song. Her voice pushes at the outer reaches of her range, but her phrasing is strangely urgent and she sounds old for the first time. It is a rare misstep on an otherwise very good record by one of the great underrated jazz singers. If it is indeed her swan song, then she went out the same way she came in: as a true classic. by Tim Sendra  
Tracklist :
1     Forget Me 3:30
Valerie Brown
2     If You Go Away 4:49
Jacques Brel / Rod McKuen
3     Yesterday 4:14
John Lennon / Paul McCartney
4     Take Love Easy 5:12
Duke Ellington / John Latouche
Flugelhorn – Roy Hargrove    
5     Never Let Me Go 5:17
Ray Evans / Jay Livingston
6     Watch What Happens 3:29
Norman Gimbel / Michel Legrand
7     Ill Wind 7:09
Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler
Flugelhorn – Roy Hargrove   
8     Maybe September 7:10
Ray Evans / Percy Faith / Jay Livingston
Piano – Ahmad Jamal
9     Everything Must Change 5:01
Benard Ighner
10     This Is All I Ask 6:43
Gordon Jenkins
Piano – Ahmad Jamal   
11     May the Music Never End 5:07
Artie Butler / Norman Martin
Credits :
Bass – Ed Howard
Drums – Steve Williams
Piano – George Mesterhazy (faixas: 1 to 7, 9)
Producer, Vocals – Shirley Horn