Shirley Horn

Shirley Horn was a child prodigy who studied piano at Howard University in her hometown of Washington DC from the age of twelve to the age of eighteen. When she was unable to take advantage of a scholarship to Juilliard due to financial constraints, she returned to Howard with the intent to become a classical pianist. After graduation, she played piano in local bars, restaurants, and nightclubs, where her piano mastery along with her unique vocals soon gave her a name amongst many jazz greats, including Miles Davis, who invited her to open for him at the Village Vanguard in Greenwich Village in 1960. Although she stayed close to her home base of Washington to raise her daughter, Shirley Horn made many recordings with a number of jazz greats, including Davis, Theolonious Monk, Elvin Jones, Wynton Marsalis and his brother Bradford. Complications from diabetes led to the loss of her right foot in later years, but she never stopped playing and performing.