Don Shirley, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Don Shirley

American-Jamaican jazz pianist and composer

Date of Birth: 29-Jan-1927

Place of Birth: Pensacola, Florida, United States

Date of Death: 06-Apr-2013

Profession: composer, pianist, jazz musician

Nationality: United States, Jamaica

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Donald Walbridge Shirley (January 29, 1927 – April 6, 2013) was an American classical and jazz pianist and composer.
He recorded many albums for Cadence during the 1950s and 1960s, experimenting with jazz with a classical influence.
He wrote organ symphonies, piano concerti, a cello concerto, three string quartets, a one-act opera, works for organ, piano and violin, a symphonic tone poem based on the novel Finnegans Wake by James Joyce, and a set of "Variations" on the legend of Orpheus in the Underworld.Born in Pensacola, Florida, Shirley was a promising young student of classical piano.
Although he did not achieve recognition in his early career playing traditional classical music, he found success with his blending of various musical traditions. During the 1960s, Shirley went on a number of concert tours, some in Deep South states.
For a time, he hired New York nightclub bouncer Tony "Lip" Vallelonga as his driver and bodyguard.
Their story was dramatized in the 2018 film Green Book.