Don Shirley
Pianist, composer, and arranger Don Shirley was born in Pensacola, Florida, on January 29, 1927. He began playing piano at age two, and seven years later had developed his skills so rapidly, he was studying theory at the prestigious Leningrad Conservatory of Music. Shirley made his concert debut with the Boston Pops in 1945, while the following year, the London Philharmonic Orchestra performed one of his first major compositions. In the ensuing years between 1954 and 1968, Shirley performed as a soloist and as a member of several symphonies, including the Boston Pops, Detroit Symphony, Chicago Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington. Shirley also composed several organ symphonies, a piano concerto, two string quartets, and numerous pieces for piano. His musical language also encompassed tastefully mastered combinations of standards, show tunes, ballads, spirituals, and jazz performed with his own trio. Incredibly, Shirley also found time between performing and recording to obtain a PhD of Music, Psychology, and Liturgical Arts. Throughout the '50s and '60s, he released numerous albums on the Cadence label. In 1999, Collectables began reissuing several of those albums as two-for-one sets. Shirley died of heart disease on April 6, 2013.
© Al Campbell /TiVo
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Don Shirley: Plays Love Songs & Don Shirley Trio
Jazz - Released by Blue Velvet on 4 Oct 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Don Shirley Plays Birdland Lullabies
Lounge - Released by Vinyle Numérique on 21 Nov 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concert Series Vol. 3
Jazz - Released by ClassicWorks on 31 Jul 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Piano Perspectives (Album of 1955)
Pop - Released by Jazz Classics on 8 Mar 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concert Series Vol. 4
Jazz - Released by ClassicWorks on 2 Aug 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Concert Series Vol. 6
Jazz - Released by ClassicWorks on 13 Aug 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concert Series Vol. 5
Jazz - Released by ClassicWorks on 2 Aug 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Don Shirley Plays Gershwin & Standards
Pop - Released by Bridge Pa Digital on 15 Nov 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Don Shirley Plays Birdland Lullabies (Album of 1960)
Jazz - Released by Jazz Classics on 30 Apr 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Don Shirley Plays Birdland Lullabies & Show Tunes
Pop - Released by Bridge Pa Digital on 15 Nov 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tonal Expressions
Pop - Released by Bridge Pa Digital on 3 Jan 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Concert Series Vol. 2
Jazz - Released by ClassicWorks on 17 Jul 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Piano (Album of 1959)
Jazz - Released by Jazz Classics on 31 Mar 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Don Shirley Plays Love Songs (Album of 1960)
Jazz - Released by Jazz Classics on 30 Apr 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Improvisations by the Don Shirley Duo (Album of 1956)
Jazz - Released by Jazz Classics on 30 Apr 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Don Shirley Works, Vol. 2
International Pop - Released by PROFOUND on 21 Jun 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo