Customer Reviews

Close Enough For Love

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I've always liked Shirley Horn, but I was stunned by this CD--the softest, quietest, most relaxed and memorable jazz I've ever heard. Horn turns a whisper into a dramatic narrative tool here, creating some of the most powerful moments in vocal music by being quiet--not shouting or wailing, not "emoting" and playing to the crowd, but simply by telling a story in music, with all the soft, personal confidences one would share with an intimate friend. Though her voice is in the low range most of the time, her high range is equally strong, and when she adds her incredible piano playing to her singing, the unified combination of voice and piano together is much larger than the sum of its parts.

Singing with her familiar backup--Charles Ables on bass and Steve Williams on drums--she features guest artist Buck Hill on tenor sax on several tracks, from the swingy "Beautiful Friendship," where his solo is longer than hers, to the jazzy "It Could Happen to You," full of sax variations which add to her piano interpretations and voice. One of my favorites on the CD is "I Got Lost in His Arms," a wondrous moment because her breathy and passionate interpretation, piano accompaniment, soft scat at the end, and muted percussion combine to create a powerful but very quiet narrative of love.

"Close Enough to Love" and "So I Love You" feature Shirley's voice and piano, unaccompanied by other instruments. Both tracks, quiet and moody interpretations, depend on near silence for their power, and though Horne hits every note, enunciates clearly, and matches the tone and volume of her piano to her vocal work for emphasis, she gives new meaning here to the idea that one can whisper on key and be subtle in jazz interpretation.

With her unusual harmonies, her variations to the normal tempo of several standards (she virtually eliminates all the Latin elements from Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Once I Loved"), her ability to range from scat to romantic ballad, and her appreciation for the creativity of the musicians with whom she shares the stage, she manages to make this very subtle CD one of the most sensuous albums ever recorded. By eliminating all the pyrotechnics, she has produced a CD that is one of the best of the best. Mary Whipple

After listening to this superb album a couple of times, I was struck by this epiphany:

There are jazz singers out there with better voices and better intonation. But nobody--and I do mean nobody--is a better story teller than the late, great Shirley Horn.

Listen to what she does to "But Beautiful", just for example. Has the story ever been told so exactly, so straightforwardly, as this? Not to my ears--and I've heard a few renditions of it by good to great singers.

Or listen to track 6, "I Want to Be Loved." This is the best rendition of middle-aged romantic love I've ever heard--and that includes a lot of covers of "Second Time Around." When Ms. Horn sings, "I Want to Act My Age, I'm Past the Stage of Turtle-Dovin'", she sounds absolutely authentic.

Or listen to how she covers "Come Fly With Me." Again, I've heard good to great singers do this Sinatra signature tune (including, of course, Sinatra). But I never got all of the words from anybody. Until now. And then, upon relisten, I realize--it's not that Ms. Horn overenunciates. She most certainly does not. It's that she knows how to phrase. She knows how to tell the story. Up there, the air is rarified--it's not "rare--air--air--i--fied." Now I know what the song is saying, and what it means.

I could go on, but you get the point. With so many fledgling and not-so-fledgling singers who pump out albums of standards from the Great American Songbook, all should take a careful listen to the master here. This is how it's done. This is how you breathe new life into these old bottles. RC

Shirley Horn's "Here's to Life" is such a singular, miraculous achievement (Downbeat Magazine, in a recent poll of jazz vocalists, ranked it as the best vocal jazz album of the past 30 years) that every one of her subsequent albums has proven to be somewhat anticlimactic. The solution? Try some Horn before rather than after her masterpiece. "Close Enough for Love" is an optimal set by Shirley and her trio, occasionally joined by tenor man Buck Hill. As usual, she performs the slow songs slower than anyone else (to especially spine-tingling effect on "But Beautiful"), but she gives equal time to some medium-tempo tunes that settle right into that grooving, infectious pocket ("Beautiful Friendship" and "This Can't Be Love" are instantaneously irresistible). This is the Shirley Horn that Miles Davis fell in love with, leading to and consummating in "Here's to Life" (which Miles unfortunately was not around to appreciate).

... The winner is Shirley Horn with her trio and some pro guests around. That's the formula, that's the definite chemistry. This album shows uptempo repertoire followed by lazy long tempo tracks characteristic of Ms.Horn's Debussy-like touch and approach on piano and singing. Delicious selection from Johnny Mandel's album title song to some Bossa Nova including Jobim and some uptempo 4x4 swings including a Bobby Troup rare gem. Classy and touchy.

Shirley Horn had a distinctive Vocal Phrasing&Piano style that is all captured on this Album."But Beautiful" is a smooth song.Her Band sounds tight.I enjoy the arrangements of the songs.this is a very relaxing&Laid-Back.upon hearing this Album helps you see why Miles Davis held Her in such high regards as a Artist.

This is my absolute FAVORITE Shirley Horn CD. Each song speaks to a past or current event in my life that brings me joy, reflection and inspired expectation.

I really enjoy listening to Shirley Horn. She sings the "heck" out of a song. She's mellow with a capital M. I had never heard of her until I heard a song of hers on Sirius radio. Was intrigued & bought a CD & was greatly pleased. Proceeded to buy more and more. Have 3 more & will buy more. Her voice is phenomenal. I'm sorry I will never get to see her perform live. She must have been something. But I'm glad we still have a music legacy that we can listen to. If you like mellow jazz vocalists, you will not be disappointed. Just discovered Shirley last year & haven't stopped listening to her. They say some singers (like Sinatra) sound like they are singing just to you. Well, Shirley has that kind of voice. Her singing is just exquisite and so evocative. My favorite song on this album is "So I Love You"; simply beautiful. I highly recommend Shirley if you are looking for someone who knows their way around a song.

Long a devotee of the great female jazz vocalists, I was not acquainted with Shirley Horn until I heard this album. Having tried to collect an assortment of vocal treatments of the title song, theme from the film, "Agatha," I not only enjoyed her rendition but other cuts, as well. "Lost in His Arms," "I Wanna Be Loved," (not as sultry as Julie London's but right on) and others enjoy splendid arrangements and Ms. Horn's keyboard magic. This album led me to become a collector of her works.