A different kind of Horn player

You're My Thrill, Shirley Horn, pianist and vocalist

In January of 1994, PBS broadcast another installment of their always fascinating, long-term series called “In Performance At The White House”, this time celebrating cabaret music. The performing guests were a mixture of the familiar along with the obscure; but the structural integrity of the talent stood strong. Dixie Carter was a performing host who introduced Bobby Short, Blossom Dearie, and Len Cariou, who brought tears to the eyes of President Clinton with his rendition of “Soliloquy” from Carousel.

My boy Bill … might be a champ of the heavyweights

Or a feller that sells you glue,

Or President of the United States,

That’d be all right, too.

But the woman I tuned in to see was Shirley Horn. Ms Horn, with her smoky voice and her unique, but spot-on phrasing makes you forget that she’s accompanying herself on the piano. I, for the life of me, can’t remember what she sang. All I can recall is that my family and I were captivated by her performance.

A female mechanic is a rare find. Yet a wonderful find. I think that most women would agree that it is atypical of their nature to want to disassemble an engine and then reassemble the engine for the purpose of seeing how it works. They would be able to do it just fine, as well as or better than any man. But, if they’re like most people, me included, they’re content to be assured that the engine functions just fine, just “show me the buttons to push to make it go”.

A jazz artist of any instrument must possess a working knowledge of music theory; as much as or more than any composer. What chord can follow another chord? What notes make up that chord? What scale can I use over this chord? What chord can I use instead of this chord? Does this scale degree work better over a strong beat or a weak beat? And so forth. Jazz musicians have instant answers to these questions. It doesn’t work for them to be shown which buttons to push to make it go. They have popped the hood and gotten their hands dirty, tearing up and ripping apart the engine of music in an effort to understand how melody and harmony and regularly measured time work together in order to improvise musical ideas. A woman’s nature, from my own point of view, isn’t typically wired to do this.

But when it is … it’s magic!!!! Case in point: Ms. Shirley Horn.

Her ability to accompany herself at the piano with complete independence from the thick yet light musical line she’s laying down with her voice has compelled Johnny Mandel to joke that, “It’s like she has two heads.” As a woman, she brings to the table a delivery and perspective with which a man can identify, but would probably not think to consider, much less imagine. Jazz is a much richer and classier genre of music for her contributions.

My battle of the sexes endeth.

Ms. Horn left us on October 20, 2005 after suffering some years with cancer. In tribute to her, as one of my two favorite female jazz singers, it will only bring me joy to share more CD’s of her with you during our year-long sojourn through my iPod.

Credits: To PBS, for programming showcases like “In Performance At The White House”. To Darrell R., for keeping my Chevy in working order.