MrHorn

Lansing, MI, USA

Darren Horn started playing professionally as a teenager in Detroit with singer Cortez Harris, who was a member of popular R&B/funk band Al Hudson & One Way. He and Cortez hit it off after Horn, whose aunt lived across the street from where the band was rehearsing, took the initiative to start jamming with them. After a time playing with Cortez at major clubs like The Twenty Grand, the keyboardist hooked up with The Axe Band, which was renowned as singer Cherelle’s backing band and toured with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Horn later played keys and acted as road manager for Kiara, which scored a #2 R&B duet on Arista Records with Shanice Wilson and opened for everyone from Gerald Albright to Whitney Houston and Luther Vandross; they also created pop crossover remixes for saxophonist Marion Meadows and worked for a time with Toni Braxton just as she was about to emerge. After some years away from the business, Horn resumed his career in the 2000s writing, producing.