Biography[edit]

Horn was born on March 17, 1930, in New York City and had Jewish ancestry through his father. The family moved to Washington, D.C., when Horn was four.^[3][4][5] He took up the piano at age four, followed by the clarinet at 12. While in Washington, D.C., Horn attended Theodore Roosevelt High School and the Washington College of Music.^[4][6] In the summer of 1942, Horn worked as an usher at the Earl Theatre to buy a clarinet.^[6] He studied the clarinet and flute at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, earning a bachelor's degree. In June 1953, Horn gained a master's from the Manhattan School of Music.^[3][7]


Moving to Los Angeles, he played with Chico Hamilton's quintet from 1956 to 1958 and became an established West Coast session player.^[8] He played on the Duke Ellington Orchestra's Suite Thursday and worked with Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett and others. He scored the 1959 animated television series Clutch Cargo. During the same year he appeared briefly in Roger Corman's film A Bucket of Blood.


In 1960, Horn recorded for Fantasy Records with Latin Jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader (with drummers Willie Bobo and Mongo Santamaria) for the album Latino!, released in 1962. He appears playing with his band in the opening scene at the jazz club in Curtis Harrington's 1961 film Night Tide.


Horn's Quintet produced jazz albums for Columbia and RCA Victor up until 1966. During this period, he was the subject of a David Wolper television documentary Portrait of a Jazz Musician.


Horn became a practitioner of transcendental meditation.^[9] He attended training at the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram along with The Beatles on their 1968 trip to India. Following his experiences in India, Horn's recordings moved from jazz to world and new-age music.


In 1955, Horn married his first wife, Lilian Yvonne Jourdan. By 1959, the marriage had started to fall apart, and their divorce was finalised a few years later.^[10] In 1970, he moved with his two sons Marlen and Robin from his marriage, and second wife Tryntje Baum to Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island. He formed his own quintet and recorded film scores for the National Film Board of Canada.^[11]


While well practiced as a jazz musician, many of his works defy such categorization. As well as the Inside series, he recorded other albums of jazz with musicians from a range of cultures and backgrounds, including China and Africa.^[12]


He lived in British Columbia and Arizona. He was last married to the Canadian singer and songwriter Ann Mortifee.^[13] Horn died at the age of 84 on June 29, 2014.^[9]