Don Shirley

Donald Shirley Walbridge ( born January 29, 1927 in Kingston, Jamaica, † April 6, 2013 in New York City, USA) was an American pianist of Jamaican origin, merged jazz and classical music in his music.

Life and work

Shirley immigrated in his childhood with his parents; his father Edwin was an Episcopal priest. Already three years he played church organ; with ten years he performed as a concert pianist. At 18, he has performed with the Boston Pops and interpreted Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 played. He studied music at the Catholic University of America in Washington. Since he never had as a African American career as a classical concert pianist, he began performing in nightclubs, first in duo with a bass player and finally in a trio with bass and cello occupation. He joined American and European musical traditions with forms of classical concert music. His arrangements processed standards like Irving Berlin's Blue Skies, George Shearing Lullaby of Birdland and Richard Rodgers ' This Nearly What mine. He interpreted show tunes from the Great American Songbook as well as Blue title, work songs and spirituals, but without improvising.

Shirley took in the 1950s and early 1960s for the label Cadence Records; to its well-known LPs count Piano Perspectives, Don Shirley Plays Love Songs, Don Shirley Plays Gershwin and Don Shirley Plays Shirley. He then moved to Columbia Records. He played also on some singles Intrumentalversionen popular songs such as If I Had a Hammer, Ol ' Man River or Stand By Me.

Shirley, who was friends with Duke Ellington, wrote this for the Divertimento for Duke by Don, a symphonic work, which premiered in 1974 by the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra of Ontario. His other compositions include a tone poem to James Joyce's " Finnegans Wake". Shirley died in April 2013 in Manhattan of a heart ailment.