A Lazy Afternoon

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Performer: Shirley Horn
Distributor: Stateside Distribution

Notes: One of a series of recordings that helped Shirley Horn relaunch her career after taking time off to raise her daughter, A Lazy Afternoon is a fine studio set with bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart. An always effective vocalist who provided her own top-notch accompaniment on piano, Horn's almost conversational style of singing works very well whether she is swinging an oldie like "I'm Old Fashioned" or delivering a lush, infectious interpretation of a ballad like "A Lazy Afternoon." In addition to well-known material, she uncovers lost gems like Gordon Jenkins' "New York's My Home" (delivered in a narrative-like style that has a funky flavor) and Peggy Lee's neglected swinging song "Take a Little Time to Smile." The one instrumental is an extended workout of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Gentle Rain." If there's a weak track on the date, it is Bill Withers' "Gra'ma's Hands," as even her best effort at casting it in a slow blues-gospel arrangement doesn't overcome the repetitious nature of the composition, a frequent problem with adapting Withers' work into a jazz setting. ~ Ken Dryden

Despite the encouragement of Miles Davis and Quincy Jones early in her career, jazz pianist and singer Shirley Horn stuck around the Washington, D.C., area and raised a family, playing the local clubs all throughout the '70s. In the early-`80's however, Horn was recorded first by the European SteepleChase label, then by Verve, and her career finally began to take off. Horn's graceful keyboard style is class personified, and ballads are her vocal specialty. She eventually received seven Grammy nominations, won an award for the Davis tribute I REMEMBER MILES, and was inducted into the Lionel Hampton Hall of Fame in 1996. Despite being ill with diabetes in later years, Horn performed and recorded until her death in 2005.

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