Shirley Horn, Legendary Jazz Singer, Dies at 71

The legendary jazz singer Shirley Horn died on Friday, October 21 in Maryland at the age of 71. She had been battling breast cancer and diabetes for many years.

Horn studied classical music at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She began her career by playing piano in restaurants in that city but soon changed her focus to jazz. In 1960, she recorded her first album, Embers and Ashes. Over the next 45 years, more than a dozen additional Horn albums were released, including the Grammy Award-winning I Remember Miles, a tribute to Miles Davis. This month, the Verve label is issuing an anthology of her work titled But Beautiful: The Best of Shirley Horn.

In 2002, Horn’s right foot was amputated due to complications from diabetes, but she continued to perform live with the aid of a protesthetic device. Her most recent appearance in New York, last winter at Le Jazz Au Bar, was a huge success.

Horn is survived by her husband, Sheppard Deering, and her daughter, Rainy Smith.