I've bought her "Here's To Life" CD 4 times. I've completely worn them out each time. It's definitely the album that I've listened to more than any other. She is simply "in the song" every single time. She was also an incredible musician. She played piano on all her recordings. A perfect piano, a perfect singer and perfect song choices every time. God bless Shirley:)
SHIRLEY HORN, SHE WAS ONE OF A KIND, I’VE READ ALL THE COMMENTS, AND MY HEART REJOICES REALIZING, THAT REGARDLESS TODAYS UNFORTUNATE ABSENCE OF QUALITY MUSIC, SO MANY SOULS HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY HER UNIQUE TALENT.
i would give anything to have been able to see her live...Shirley is by far my absolute favorite to listen to! She seems so wise and all-knowing. Every time I hear her, I feel like I'm under a spell! Her voice is so beautiful and natural she doesn't try to be anything but herself. I positively treasure her music!!! AGH ILOVESHIRLEYHORN!!!!!!!!!
Shirley, we love and miss you. Part of my heart went to sleep when you left this earth. Your music is the soundtrack of our lives. Thank you for the many, many gifts of your music, your humor and your soul.
+Warren Perry I have to comment...this lady I discovered two years ago and find her captivating. Her vocals...the delivery of lyrics takes you to days of old. It must have been fabulous to have been in this era of real music. Her song Here's To Life has a special meaning to me. It brings tears to my eyes. Enjoy.
+Juanita Jordan Check out my "country" version of the song with my niece Sonia Harrison on youtube "Sonia Harrison sings here's to life" we tried to cover the Shirley Horn version...without the orchestra of course. The song also has a very special meaning to me and my niece.
This lovely lady mastered the art of making love to the lyrics and tune of each song she interpreted... absolutely masterful; an unsurpassable treasure!
How does one ever tire of this display of sheer elegance in song? Shirley is timeless. Many have tried to mimic the splendor that ricochets throughout her music, but fail miserably!
She and Sarah had it. A distinctive sound that came from the heart and deep from the lung. Both played piano and both instruments led to the sound you'll rarely hear. This is what happens when genius matures. As in all good things in life, take your time, a pleasure delayed is twice enjoyed.
I believe that the immaculate Shirley Horn is accompanied in this number by the excellent pianist George Mesterhazy. Sadly, Shirley is no longer with us, but in her lifetime she demonstrated at all times what a truly wonderful jazz singer and pianist she was. She is, and always will be, sheer jazz class. Thanks for the memories, Shirley. Thank you for performing so well in the way that you did.
omg i luv her I never even heard of Shirley Horn until I heard here to life on a day time soap called all my children in the late 90's and after that she had me I purchased the cd. I thank god every day for the opportunity of Shirley Horn she is truly gifted jazz artist. God Bless her!!!
I happened into the Brass Rail in Washington D C 1960. Shirley was there . My first exposure. Never forgot . Her phrasing is similar to another favorite of mine Jerri Southern.
I really Love & admired her soft beautiful golden voice.I was the last person who provide a care giver at the Rehabilitation center during her ordeal of illness & Medical treatment for many Months. I remember at first time i met her that i have no idea who she is & found out that she is a Jazz Singer . I have many brief conversion & Many Flowers & letters arriving everyday.Until the very moment that she resting in peace that i held her hand for the last time .I told her goodbye & get well...
i am so completely in love with this beautiful lady and her many musical abilities i only wish i could have seen her perform live my life would be complete be still my heart
You have to feel Shirley with your heart to understand the depths of her talent.She was a great interpreter of jazz.The" Her's To Life" CD belongs in every serious jazz lovers collection.For me it is one of my most cherished possessions. Shirley was Master Class and i miss her.
she never got all the accolades she deserved. she used to play at an hotel on the outskirts of philly on the main line, in the 70's. i was wild and young but i remembered her music and her name and caught up with her unique sound in the 80's, thank god!!
Your dad surely could tickle those ivories!! He was a masterpiece....a national treasure as was Shirley Horn❤ I hope they are still making music together in Heaven 😊
I've played the piano all my life; I don't know why I didn't hear about your father, but he is masterful on the piano, but I'm not surprised he accompanied Shirley, she always worked with the best. This must have been a time when she was not playing the piano, due to losing her foot with diabetes complications. But she did play again, using a prosthesis. Wonderful Shirley, a talent all her own, her style was like no other! And George's accompaniment was just like what Shirley would have done herself! Beautiful.
Your father was a fantastic piano player. I was saddened to hear he had passed away. Shirley Horn was my favorite female singer and your dad did a fantastic job accompanying her on this video.
This is my first you tube comment. But I loved Shirley Horn. My first CD was "Here's to Life". I have tried to purchase every thing she has recorded. I saw her live and it was magical. Her phrasing is incredible,instinctive. She takes her time, and it works. A true artist. I miss her too. Thanks for posting this gem.
What a great singer, I wish I'd known about her long ago. I sing like her and I didn't even know it, though my voice isn't quite as rich as hers. I will seek out her music hereafter, I love her style. I wonder how old she was on this song, she's definitely still got it! Wonderful. She makes you feel every word she sings. Slow and sensual, with her beautiful chords on the piano, just lovely!
What delivery, what timing....Thank you Shirley Horn, you brought beauty into our lives, I still get a lump in my throat when I hear "where do you start"
Shirley could bring life to and lyric. She was truely the master of phrasing. I also must say that her piano skills, chords, lead fills ...... amazing. He music has let me travel to places in my mind that I would have never reached without listeining to her music.
She reads your mind and knows exactly how you're digesting and reacting to EVERY syllable. A Master. There is nothing more you can say. My buddy worked on bass with her many years ago and relates that she was just as loving and giving a person as she was a musician. She loved cooking for everyone!
The absolute best ever! The first time I heard her was when Shirley Horn with strings "Here's To Life" came out. That album took me through my divorce. I'm on my 5th CD of that one and I bought everything else she ever did almost. Simply the best.
Working in 2010 and listening to the "Jazz Ark" on the radio. I heard her voice for the first time. Each inflection, each note more enchanting, and sustaining then the next. Multifaceted, but smooth and polished simply a jewel.
You just can’t do it better than George Mesterhazy (R.I.P.), Ed Howard and Steve Williams do it here. Three tremendous musicians accompanying one of the all time greats
Beautiful craft. I remember a man walked you onstage and sat you at your piano, as soon as you opened your mouth to sing I was captured by your lovely voice. You were singing so effortlessly and I was in awe of you. Never will I forget that wonderful evening. Thank a million times over...
so here i am again doing what we all do...going back to hear our favorite singer. and isn't she ever just that and always. how was she born into music to know how to address it in her inimitable way. she could draw out this great music in a way that would allow you to muse upon it and take it in in it's fulness. you know she was not only singing (interpreting) but accompanying herself too. who does that ? then she delivers it into your heart with a richness that is unmatched. we are in her debt, forever.
One more time we can see the type of excellence that can exist in a musical performance. It does not get better than this; Shirley's tenderness and emotion bring me to tears. God Bless her soul. Thank you so much for this posting. I can never tire from listening to Shirley Horn.
I read the comments posted here and I see how much love is poured out for this woman who touched us all so very deeply. We should all aspire to this kind of artistry- no pyrotechnics or bravado, just simple, authentic beauty.
Far from the limelight ,maybe in a small intimate room you could have heard this incredible woman weave her spell.Shirley I miss you. Thanks for what you left behind.
i forgot that i love shirley horn. listened to her from my days in cambridge in 57 through 61. i just wrote that sarah was the finest voice of the 20th century but up pops competition. then too she knew what songs to pick. did she sound this good to herself ? did she know what she was accomplishing ? i hope so.
The best. Purely unique and somehow she got into the song, not just delivering it. Her phrasing was spectacular -- every syllable dripped with evocative emotions -- much like her beloved Miles Davis, who, btw, died before he could be featured on "Here's to Life". Wynton Marsalis did a fine job instead with Johnny Mandel, of course. Love her!
Shirley was purely and simply, the BEST! Never a better ear or that incredible TIMING! That's a GIFT. Everytime I hear Shirley, I know I've really been GIFTED! RIP, Ms. Horn, you've GIFTED oh, so many....
I'm always amazed how someone of her advanced years and life experience can perform this type of music and not break down into an ocean of tears on stage!
Our loved ones live on in our hearts, but how lucky are we to have these memories to enjoy over and over. Her family must feel blessed even more than we her fans.
such elegance. Tears just pour out of me to be privileged to hear such quiet genius. It's iniminatabile, reminds me of late Beethoven. In a word: pure.
I had never heard of Shirley Horn and accidentally discovered her music here. After hearing one song, I started compiling a playlist of everything I could find. She was amazing and her vocals are beautiful and unique. I could listen to her endlessly!
🌈🌺❤❤❤🎼🌺 Shirley Horn - A Time For Love Je peux dire que je vous aime Shirley Horn, à l'aune de ce vous nous offrez avec votre voix tapis volant, plume d'amour dans l'air libre des retrouvailles. Quand je vous écoute il me semble retrouver l'enfance et l'âme du monde, ainsi votre voix traverse les parois du temps et de la mémoire. Un baume céleste pour les cœurs blessés . Votre style vocale et pianistique nous porte loin des lourdeurs crasses de notre monde au cerveau reptilien de l'organisation humaine. Une Diva du Jazz! Du grand art ! VOTRE VOIX NOUS MONTRE LA VOIE DE CET AUTRE MONDE Où VOUS ÊTES DESORMAIS. P.G.Y
first heard about this goddess when friends from takoma park maryland gave me a copy of her first album, ember and ashes when I enrolled at GW Unversity after being discharged from the USMC in 1965. Then saw her whenever she played at the Bohemian Caverns on U street in D C. Listened to Here's To Life for a month every evening while camping on brewers bay in the BVI last year and it changed my life. If You Loved me restored my acceptance of the challenge called life. She f's the ineffable.
I'm crying... thinking of how she was suffering from her illnesses during this performance and yet she gave us 100 emotion and passion into this song.... love it Ms. Shirley Horn.
