George Shearing
For a long stretch of time in the 1950s and early '60s, George Shearing had one of the most popular jazz combos on the planet -- so much so that, in the usual jazz tradition of distrusting popular success, he tended to be underappreciated. Shearing's main claim to fame was the invention of a unique quintet sound, derived from a combination of piano, vibraphone, electric guitar, bass, and drums. Within this context, Shearing would play in a style he called "locked hands," which he picked up and refined from Milt Buckner's early '40s work with the Lionel Hampton band, as well as from Glenn Miller's sax section and the King Cole Trio. Stating the melody on the piano with closely knit, harmonized block chords, with the vibes and guitar tripling the melody in unison, Shearing sold millions of records for MGM and Capitol in his heyday.
The wild success of this urbane sound obscured Shearing's other great contribution during this time, for he was also a pioneer of exciting, small-combo Afro-Cuban jazz in the '50s. Cal Tjader first caught the Latin jazz bug while playing with Shearing, and the English bandleader also employed such esteemed congueros as Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, and Armando Peraza. As a composer, Shearing was best known for the uniquely constructed bop standard "Lullaby of Birdland," as well as "Conception" and "Consternation." His solo style, though all his own, reflected the influences of the great boogie-woogie pianists and classical players as well as those of Fats Waller, Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson, Erroll Garner, Art Tatum, and Bud Powell -- and fellow pianists long admired his light, refined touch. He was also known to play accordion and sing on occasion.
Shearing, who was born blind, began playing the piano at the age of three, receiving some music training at the Linden Lodge School for the Blind in London as a teenager but picking up the jazz influence from Teddy Wilson and Fats Waller 78s. In the late '30s, he started playing professionally with the Ambrose dance band and made his first recordings in 1937 under the aegis of fellow Brit Leonard Feather. He became a star in Britain, performing for the BBC, playing a key role in the self-exiled Stéphane Grappelli's London-based groups of the early '40s, and winning seven consecutive Melody Maker polls before emigrating in New York City in 1947 at the prompting of Feather. Once there, Shearing quickly absorbed bebop, replacing Garner in the Oscar Pettiford Trio and leading a quartet in tandem with Buddy DeFranco. In 1949, he formed the first and most famous of his quintets, which included Marjorie Hyams on vibes, Chuck Wayne on guitar, John Levy on bass, and Denzil Best on drums. Recording briefly first for Discovery, then Savoy, Shearing settled into lucrative associations with MGM (1950-1955) and Capitol (1955-1969), the latter for which he made albums with Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, and Nat King Cole. He also made a lone album for Jazzland with the Montgomery Brothers (including Wes Montgomery) in 1961, and began playing concert dates with symphony orchestras.
After leaving Capitol, Shearing began to phase out his by-then-predictable quintet, finally breaking it up in 1978. He started his own label, Sheba, which lasted for a few years into the early '70s, and made some trio recordings for MPS later in the decade. In the '70s, his profile had been lowered considerably, but upon signing with Concord in 1979, Shearing found himself enjoying a renaissance. He made a number of acclaimed albums with Mel Tormé, raising the singer's profile in the process, and recorded with the likes of Ernestine Anderson, Jim Hall, Marian McPartland, Hank Jones, and classical French horn player Barry Tuckwell. He also recorded a number of solo piano albums where his full palette of influences came into play. He signed with Telarc in 1992 and, from that point through the early 2000s, continued to perform and record, most often appearing in a duo or trio setting. Shearing, who had remained largely inactive since 2004 after a fall in his New York City apartment, died of congestive heart failure at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital on February 14, 2011. He was 91.
© Richard S. Ginell /TiVo
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The Best Of George Shearing (1955-1960)
Jazz - Pubblicato da Capitol Records il 1 gen 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
As Requested - George Shearing Quintet
Jazz - Pubblicato da eOne Music il 1 gen 1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best Of George Shearing (1960-69) (Vol. 2)
Jazz - Pubblicato da Capitol Records il 1 gen 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Playing Our Songs
Dave Brubeck, Ahmad Jamal, Oscar Peterson, George Shearing
Jazz - Pubblicato da Telarc il 27 lug 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best
Jazz - Pubblicato da Blue Note Records il 1 gen 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alone Together
George Shearing, Marian McPartland
Jazz - Pubblicato da Concord Jazz il 1 mar 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Legends & Lions: Swoonin'
Jazz - Pubblicato da Mack Avenue Records il 6 giu 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hopeless Romantics
Michael Feinstein, George Shearing
Jazz - Pubblicato da Concord Records il 1 gen 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
20 Essentials of George Shearing
Jazz - Pubblicato da BNF Collection il 1 gen 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Play The Music Of Cole Porter
George Shearing, Barry Tuckwell
Jazz - Pubblicato da Concord Concerto il 30 giu 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bags Meets Wes! (Bonus Track Version)
Wes Montgomery, Milt Jackson, George Shearing
Jazz - Pubblicato da Jazz Musts il 2 gen 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
George Shearing & The Montgomery Brothers
Bebop - Pubblicato da Black Sheep Music il 30 apr 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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George Shearing & Friends
Jazz - Pubblicato da Rolled Gold Classics il 20 mar 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Old Gold And Ivory
Jazz - Pubblicato da CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92) il 1 gen 1964
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Figures / George Shearing (1947-1953)
Jazz - Pubblicato da Collector Records Greece il 2 gen 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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George Shearing and the Montgomery Brothers
George Shearing, Buddy Montgomery, Wes Montgomery, Monk Montgomery
Jazz - Pubblicato da FM Records il 2 gen 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Burnished Brass (The George Shearing Quintet With Brass Choir)
Jazz - Pubblicato da Blue Note Records il 24 apr 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Deep Velvet
Jazz - Pubblicato da CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92) il 1 gen 1964
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo