Shirley Horn was a classically trained pianist and vocalist who forged a friendship with jazz legend Miles Davis, enjoying a career resurgence in her late ‘40s. The Washington, D.C. native was born May 1, 1934.
Horn began studying piano at the age of four. She studied composition and piano at the Howard University Junior School of Music before attending and graduating from the college. She was accepted at the Julliard School of Music, but her parents could not afford the tuition.
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After college, Horn married Sheppard Deering, a mechanic, and turned her attention mostly to being a wife and homemaker.
But she continued to play in clubs across Washington, D.C., becoming known for both her piano playing and singing ability. Her embrace of slow, jazzy tunes endeared her to audiences. She recorded a few albums, including 1961’s Embers and Ashes which caught the attention of Davis.
Davis famously tracked Horn down to open up for him at New York’s famed jazz club, the Village Vanguard. Stars such as Sidney Poitier and Charles Mingus were in attendance, among many others.
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