Description
Soul of a Horn is vocalist Lynette Washington's celebration of the music and enduring influence of singer-pianist Shirley Horn, produced and arranged by pianist and composer Amina Figarova. The project grew out of a May 1, 2025 concert at Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center, presented on Horn's birthday after Jason Olaine personally invited Washington to pay tribute to the legendary vocalist. The chemistry generated by that performance became the foundation for this studio recording, which approaches Horn's repertoire with reverence while giving the music a contemporary identity of its own.
Washington is joined by a sextet featuring Figarova on piano, Bart Platteau, Skylar Tang and Troy Roberts in the horn section, Luques Curtis on bass and Donald Edwards on drums. Figarova produced the album and created all of its arrangements, framing Washington's vocals with a setting capable of moving from Horn's famously intimate, unhurried ballad style to swinging ensemble passages. Washington brings her own interpretive personality to the material rather than attempting an imitation; as Pure Jazz Radio's Rich Keith observed, her singing evokes 'the great singers of the past but sounds like no one else.'
The program draws deeply from songs associated with Horn, including 'I Didn't Know What Time It Was,' 'It Could Happen to You,' 'I Just Found Out About Love,' 'Big City,' 'Solitary Moon,' 'Don't Be on the Outside' and the closing 'Here's to Life.' Alongside these interpretations is 'Ordinary,' a new original co-written by Skye Washington and Figarova, extending the project beyond retrospective tribute. Rapper witSmusic also makes a guest appearance, adding another contemporary voice to an album conceived as a continuation of Horn's musical lineage rather than simply a recreation of her recordings.
Spanning nearly an hour, Soul of a Horn connects a historic night on the bandstand with the intimacy and precision of the recording studio. Washington and Figarova use Horn's legacy as the starting point for a broader exploration of vocal jazz across generations, preserving the emotional directness, space and sophisticated phrasing associated with Horn while allowing a new ensemble of musicians to respond in its own musical language.
Track Listing
- I Didn't Know What Time It Was
- It Could Happen to You
- Should I Surrender
- I Just Found Out About Love
- Ordinary
- Big City
- Bein' Green
- Solitary Moon
- Don't Be on the Outside
- Forget Me
- Here's to Life
Additional Details
Label: Amfi Records
Genre: Jazz
Language: English
Run Time: 59:50 mins
Region: 0
Release Date: 11/06/26
UPC: 760137225942