Two excellent early albums from
Shirley Horn – back to back on a single CD! Travelin Light is one of the greatest jazz vocal albums of the 60s, and probably the greatest album ever by
Shirley Horn! The session's got a beautiful lively sound, with extremely interesting arrangements by Johnny Pate, and a flute/
piano/
guitar sound that works perfectly with
Shirley's lovely voice. The material is a great mix of lesser-known songs, sung with a maturity and honesty that will make your heart break. We love this one way better than any of
Shirley's recent albums, and we can't recommend it highly enough! Titles include "Sunday In New York", "Yes, I Know When I've Had It", "Someone You've Loved", "I Could Have Told You", "Travelin Light", and "Don't Be On The Outside".
Horn Of Plenty is hip stuff from
Shirley Horn – very mature and swinging jazz! The set features the sharp early vocals of
Shirley Horn nicely set up with some larger backings – hip arrangements handled by Quincy Jones, Thad Jones, and Billy Byers – with all the groovy 60s punch you can imagine from a lineup like that! And although
Horn later became well known for some gentler, mellower cuts, we're huge fans of her singing like this – which has a righteous power that really tops some of the vocalists from the previous generation. Titles include "Wee Small Hours", "That Old Black Magic", "The Great City", "On The Street Where You Live", and "Let Me Love You".