''Here's to Life'' is a 1992

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Shirley Horn Shirley Valerie Horn (May 1, 1934 – October 20, 2005) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She collaborated with many jazz musicians including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Ron Carter, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis and othe ...

, arranged by

Johnny Mandel John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925June 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Benn ...

(also the composer of three of the songs on the album), who received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) on this album. The title track " Here's to Life" became Horn's

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

. The music was written by

Artie Butler Arthur Butler (born December 2, 1942) is an American composer, arranger, songwriter, and session musician. In a long career, he has been involved in numerous hit records and other recordings, and has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum albums ...

and the poignant lyrics were written by

Phyllis Molinary Phyllis is a feminine given name which may refer to: People * Phyllis Bartholomew (1914–2002), English long jumper * Phyllis Drummond Bethune (née Sharpe, 1899–1982), New Zealand artist * Phyllis Calvert (1915–2002), British actress * Ph ...

. The lyric is known, world-wide, as one of her finest works and the song is considered a "modern day jazz standard."Eli Zeger
"Here’s to Life — ‘a meditation for those entering their later years’"
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', September 18, 2018. "If You Love Me" is her interpretation of the passionate "

Hymne à l'amour "" (; French for "Hymn to Love") is a popular French song originally performed by Édith Piaf. Édith Piaf The lyrics were written by Piaf and the music by Marguerite Monnot. It was written to her lover and the love of her life, the French boxer, ...

", made famous by

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and vari ...

. "Summer" is the first English version of the Italian standard " Estate". Horn ordered English lyrics after hearing Joao Gilberto's version, which spread the song's worldwide fame.

Track listing

# " Here's to Life" (

, Phyllis Molinary) – 5:37 # "Come a Little Closer"/"

Wild Is the Wind ''Wild is the Wind'' is a 1957 film directed by George Cukor and starring Anna Magnani, Anthony Quinn, and Anthony Franciosa. It tells the story of an American rancher who, after his wife dies, goes to Italy to marry her sister, but finds that sh ...

" ( John Wallowitch)/(

Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (, ; May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City ...

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Bes ...

) – 7:27 # "How Am I to Know?" ( Jack King,

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...

) – 3:23 # " A Time for Love" (

Paul Francis Webster Paul Francis Webster (December 20, 1907 – March 18, 1984) was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song, and was nominated sixteen times for the award. Life and career Webster was born in New York City, United St ...

) – 6:45 # "Where Do You Start?" (

Alan Bergman Alan Bergman (born September 11, 1925) and Marilyn Keith Bergman (November 10, 1928 – January 8, 2022) were an American songwriting duo. Married from 1958 until Marilyn's death, together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous celebrated telev ...

Marilyn Bergman Alan Bergman (born September 11, 1925) and Marilyn Keith Bergman (November 10, 1928 – January 8, 2022) were an American songwriting duo. Married from 1958 until Marilyn's death, together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous celebrated telev ...

) – 4:36 # "

You're Nearer "You're Nearer" is an American popular song by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart (Rodgers and Hart) from the 1940 film version of the Broadway musical '' Too Many Girls''. It was not in the original Broadway show but was written ...

" (

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Both ...

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

) – 3:32 # "Return to Paradise" (Tiomkin, Washington) – 5:09 # "

Isn't It a Pity? "Isn't It a Pity?" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, written for the unsuccessful 1933 musical '' Pardon My English''. It was introduced by George Givot and Josephine Huston. Notable recordings *Victor Arden - ...

" (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

) – 5:47 # "Quietly There" (Morgan Ames,

) – 6:09 # " If You Love Me" (

Marguerite Monnot Marguerite Monnot (28 May 1903 – 12 October 1961) was a French songwriter and composer best known for having written many of the songs performed by Édith Piaf ("Milord", " Hymne à l'amour") and for the music in the stage musical '' Irma La ...

, Geoff Parsons) – 6:02 # " Summer (Estaté)" (Bruno Brighetti,

Bruno Martino Bruno Martino (11 November 1925 – 12 June 2000) was an Italian composer, singer, and pianist. Career Martino learned to play the piano at the age of fourteen. A Jazz fan, he spent the early years of his career performing with European radio an ...

Joel E. Siegel Joel E. Siegel (1940 – 11 March 2004) was a professor of English and film studies at Georgetown University, a film and music critic, a music producer, and a lyricist. He won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Album Notes together with Buck Clayton a ...

) – 7:38

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

*Charles Ables – bass *Steve Williams - drums *

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

, conductor *

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awar ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

(tracks 4 & 9) * Richard Todd, French horn, (track 1)

References

{{Authority control 1992 albums Shirley Horn albums Albums arranged by Johnny Mandel Verve Records albums