Genre: Jazz, Vocal The tracks collected here span 12 years of Shirley Horn's marvelous recordings for the Verve label, and feature jazz pianist and vocalist Horn's super tight trio with various special guests, such as Wynton Marsalis and Toots Thielmans. Shirley Horn's work has always been uniformly excellent, and every track on this sampler of her music is a knockout. Horn is a master of the romantic jazz ballad, the emphasis of this collection. Her smoky vocals are intimate and conversational, and she uses silences to make an emotional point, rather than vocal acrobatics. Her idiosyncratic chord cluster style of piano playing punctuates her every vocal phrase. Included here are such classic Horn tracks as the gorgeous and languid "A Time For Love," with Johnny Mandel's superb orchestral tapestry, as well as sultry versions of "Fever" and "How Long Has This Been Going On?" This CD is a perfect entry into the unique and brilliant artistry of Shirley Horn. This is part of Verve Record's Jazz 'Round Midnight series.