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George Shearing
George Shearing enjoys an international reputation as a pianist, arranger and composer. Equally at home on the concert stage as in jazz clubs, Shearing is recognized for inventive, orchestrated jazz. He has written over 300 compositions, including the classic “Lullaby of Birdland,” which has become a jazz standard.
Shearing was born in 1919 in the Battersea area of London. Congenitally blind, he was the youngest of nine children. His father delivered coal and his mother cleaned trains at night after caring for the children during the day. His only formal musical education consisted of four years of study at the Linden Lodge School for the Blind. While his talent won him a number of university scholarships, he was forced to refuse them in favor of a more financially productive pursuit…playing piano in a neighborhood pub for the handsome salary of $5 a week! Shearing joined an all-blind band in the 1930’s. At that time he developed a friendship with the noted jazz critic and author, Leonard Feather. Through this contact, he made his first appearance on BBC radio.
In 1947, Mr. Shearing moved to America, where he spent two years establishing his fame on this side of the Atlantic. The Shearing Sound commanded national attention when, in 1949, he gathered a quintet to record “September in the Rain” for MGM. The record was an overnight success and sold 900,000 copies. His U.S. reputation was permanently established when he was booked into Birdland, the legendary jazz spot in New York. Since then, he has become one of the country’s most popular performing and recording artist. In 1982 and 1983 he won Grammy Awards with recordings he made with Mel Torme. Mr. Shearing was the subject of an hour-long television documentary entitled “The Shearing Touch” presented on the Southbank Show with Melvyn Bragg on ITV in the UK. Three presidents have invited Mr. Shearing to play at the White House.. Ford, Carter and Reagan. He performed at the Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. He is a member of the Friars Club and the Lotos Club in New York and the Bohemian Club in San Francisco.
His awards and honors are many. In May 1975, he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from Westminster College in Salt Lake City. In May of 1994, Hamilton College in upstate New York awarded him another honorary doctorate in music. DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana presented him with an honorary doctorate of music on June 1, 2002. He received the prestigious Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans in 1978 and a community recreational facility in Battersea, south London, was named the George Shearing Centre in his honor. In May of 1993, he was presented with the British equivalent of the Grammy…the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement. In June of 1996, Mr. Shearing was included in the Queen’s Birthday Honors List and on November 26, 1996 he was invested by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his “service to music and Anglo-US relations.” He was presented the first American Music Award by the National Arts Club, New York City, in March of 1998.
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A Slice of the Jazz Life, Part 1
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by Monk Rowe
The life of a jazz musician is never boring. George Shearing, Marian McPartland, Terry Gibbs and Milt Hinton regale us with behind-the-scenes scenarios both poignant and absurd. ...
read moreGeorge Shearing Centennial, Woodstock turns 50 and the Charlie Parker Festival
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by Mary Foster Conklin
The celebration of 1969 continued in this broadcast, which included new releases from vocalists Nicholas Bearde, The New York Voices and Quiana Lynell, pianist Alberto Pibiri & the Al Peppers, plus a special Woodstock tribute by Erik Applegate & Time Child, with birthday shout outs to Pat Metheny in the first hour, Mary Stallings (80!) and George Shearing in the third hour (100!), and Bill Evans in the final hour, among others. As always, a preview of who played in ...
read moreAugust Birthdays, including the George Shearing Centennial
![Read "August Birthdays, including the George Shearing Centennial" reviewed by Marc Cohn](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/752a71376c402e5d3f0e572c424377be.jpg)
by Marc Cohn
August jazz birthdays this week on Gifts and Messages. We feature pianist George Shearing for his 100th birthday, along with Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker (2020 is the Bird centennial. Are you ready?), Count Basie and Lester Young. Among the living we give thanks for Pat Metheny, Wayne Shorter, Cecile McLorin-Salvant and Branford Marsalis. And there are singers Eddie Jefferson and Jimmy Rushing, reedmen Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Benny Carter (at the Savoy Ballroom), pianist Oscar Peterson and trumpeter Bill Coleman. ...
read moreGeorge Shearing: George Shearing at Home
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by C. Michael Bailey
Pianist Sir George Shearing (1919--2011) was himself an integral part of the be bop jazz movement in the late 1940s. His quintet that featured vibraphone and guitar with the standard piano trio was sonically ground breaking. His precise and measured piano style influenced a generation of pianists and several of his compositions ("Lullaby of Birdland" and Conception") have become jazz standards. He was not flashy, but a solid, well-considered player whose playing could always be counted on to be elegant ...
read moreGeorge Shearing Quintet
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by Douglas Payne
The great pianist George Shearing (1919-2011) helmed a classic jazz quintet from 1949 through 1978. The best of these recordings were made while Shearing was contracted with Capitol between 1955 and 1969. Here is a sample of the finest of the George Shearing Quintet's recordings. TrackNameTimeArtistAlbum1 Strange2:53George ShearingThe Shearing Spell-Velvet Carpet2 Yesterdays3:14George ShearingThe Shearing Spell-Velvet Carpet3 Out Of This World3:21George ShearingThe Shearing Spell-Velvet Carpet4 Cuban Fantasy2:28George ShearingThe Shearing Spell-Velvet Carpet5 'Round Midnight3:01George ShearingThe Shearing Spell-Velvet Carpet6 If ...
read moreGeorge Shearing: Like Fine Wine
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by Ken Hohman
George Shearing has never been one to be accused of playing too loud. His urbane sound of piano, vibraphone and guitar playing in unison made his records some of the most popular jazz albums of the '50s and '60s. But for those who acquired a taste for his brand of jazz, there was much beauty to be discovered beneath the genteel swing of The Shearing Spell." And that is much the case for Like Fine Wine.
Performed in a sympathetic ...
read moreGeorge Shearing: Like Fine Wine
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by Franz A. Matzner
George Shearing's latest release, Like Fine Wine, presents the renowned pianist/composer in a trio setting performing a series of-sadly-quite tired standards. Certainly, Shearing's abilities are in evidence, shinning through at odd moments throughout the course of the album, but the pieces are taken at such a meandering pace, and have been aged to such a mellow quality, that the resulting interpretations slip dangerously close to the smooth jazz versions, with the most egregious takes sounding almost like ...
read moreGeorge Shearing: Quintet Xmas
![George Shearing: Quintet Xmas](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/logo/1024pxMarcMyers.jpg)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
At JazzWax, 12 is the number of years I've posted annually on my selection for the JazzWax Vintage Holiday Album Hall of Fame. The point of this is to offer up perfect holiday music that conjures up feelings of a time long past or is just superbly executed seasonal music. Combined on your iTunes or Spotify playlist, all of these albums shuffled should do the trick this month. My choice for induction this year is Christmas With the George Shearing ...
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George Shearing: Late '60s
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
So much of George Shearing's extensive Capitol catalog is disappointing. I'm not complaining about Shearing's playing, which was mostly lively and thoughtful. Rather, it's the unevenness of his individual albums during this period and from one album to the next. It's almost as if the suits at Capitol had no clue what sounded good and what sounded lousy. For example, Burnished Brass in 1958 is good while Satin Brass, which came next in '59, is an auto accident of blaring ...
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George Shearing at Home
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
In January 1983, George Shearing and bassist Don Thompson began a six week engagement at Michael's Pub on East 55th St. in New York. Thompson and Shearing had been working as a duo since June '82 and had developed a strong and trusting musical bond. During this period in early '83, Shearing and Thompson often rehearsed at Shearing's New York apartment, to try things out. [Pictured above: George and Ellie Shearing] The so-called practice sessions were so lyrically deep that ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: George Shearing
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Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating George Shearing's birthday today!
George Shearing enjoys an international reputation as a pianist, arranger and composer. Equally at home on the concert stage as in jazz clubs, Shearing is recognized for inventive, orchestrated jazz. He has written over 300 compositions, including the classic “Lullaby of Birdland,” which has become a jazz standard. Shearing was born in 1919 in the Battersea area of London. Congenitally blind, he was the youngest of nine children... Read more.
Place ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: George Shearing
![Jazz Musician of the Day: George Shearing](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/752a71376c402e5d3f0e572c424377be.jpg)
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All About Jazz is celebrating George Shearing's birthday today!
George Shearing enjoys an international reputation as a pianist, arranger and composer. Equally at home on the concert stage as in jazz clubs, Shearing is recognized for inventive, orchestrated jazz. He has written over 300 compositions, including the classic “Lullaby of Birdland,” which has become a jazz standard. Shearing was born in 1919 in the Battersea area of London. Congenitally blind, he was the youngest of nine children...George Shearing enjoys an ...
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George Shearing "Bossa Nova"
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Sound Insights by Doug Payne
The Japanese branch of EMI Toshiba has just issued 50 budget-priced CDs as part of its Jazz 999 Best & More" series, including the tremendous George Shearing Bossa Nova, the late pianist's lovely 1963 album, his first such experiment in the Brazilian fad that swept the Western world in the early half of the 1960s. Caught up in the Bossa Nova craze that swept through jazz and popular music in the early 1960s, pianist George Shearing makesperhapsthe first of his ...
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The George Shearing Quintet: All About Jazz Playlist
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Sound Insights by Doug Payne
All About Jazz's My iTunes Playlists are designed to help music lovers compile their own best of" iPod playlists or CDR compilations. Here is the playlist I constructed to help introduce new listeners to what I consider to be the best of the classic George Shearing Quintet's best available recordings. The great pianist George Shearing (1919-2011) helmed a classic jazz quintet from 1949 through 1978. The best of these recordings were made while Shearing was contracted with Capitol between 1955 ...
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George Shearing's Gentle Piano Jazz on Riffin Radio Show Today at 4 PM
![George Shearing's Gentle Piano Jazz on Riffin Radio Show Today at 4 PM](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/2010/helpinghands100x100.jpg)
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JamaicaMusic Offbeat
The celebrated piano jazz of Sir George Shearing who died last week at age 91 will be the dominant factor of this Sunday (February 27) Riffin show aired weekly between 4-6 PM ET on University of the West Indies (UWI) radio, News Talk 93FM. Riffin is hosted by renowned, Washington DC based musicologist Dermot Hussey. British born Shearing, who overcame blindness, died Monday (Feb 14), was a self-taught musician who became not only a great jazz pianist but also one ...
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George Shearing, Ebullient Jazz Pianist, R.I.P.
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JazzStage.net
George Shearing, the ebullient jazz pianist who wrote the standard Lullaby of Birdland" and had a string of hits both with and without his quintet, has died. He was 91. Shearing, blind since birth, died early Monday morning in Manhattan of congestive heart failure, his longtime manager Dale Sheets said. Shearing had been a superstar of the jazz world since a couple of years after he arrived in the United States in 1947 from his native England, where he was ...
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George Shearing: Both Good and Popular
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AAJ Staff
George Shearing, who died on Monday, was a great jazz pianist. For much of his long lifetime, he was also one of the 20th century's most successful entertainers, a purveyor of supersmooth easy-listening music that was distinguishable from Muzak only because he played it with perfect taste. That was part of what made him so admirable an artist: Even when he was making music for the masses, he did it without a hint of condescension. Mr. Shearing, who was born ...
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