George Shearing

Infobox musical artist
Name = George Shearing

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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
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Born = Birth date and age|1919|8|13|mf=y
Origin = Battersea, London, UK
Instrument = piano
Genre = jazz
bebop
swing
cool jazz
Years_active = 1950s — present
Label = MGM Records
Capitol Records
Concord Records
Associated_acts =
Notable_instruments =
website = www.georgeshearing.net/

Sir George Shearing OBE (b. August 13, 1919) is a British jazz pianist who, during the 1950s, "had one of the most popular jazz combos on the planet" who sold "tons of records for MGM and Capitol in his heyday."cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:8q4tk6sx9krf|title=George Shearing|author=Richard S. Ginell|accessdate=2007-02-26] He has written over 300 compositions and has had multiple albums on the Billboard magazine charts throughout the '50s, '60s, '80s and '90s.

He became known for a piano technique known as Shearing's voicing, a type of double melody block chord, with an additional fifth part that doubles the melody an octave lower.

Early life and education

Shearing was born on August 13, 1919 in Battersea, South London, England and was the youngest of nine children. He was born blind to working class parents: his father delivered coal and his mother cleaned trains in the evening. He started to learn piano at the age of three and began formal training at Linden Lodge School for the Blind, where he spent four years.cite web|url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=1961|title=George Shearing Biography|accessdate=2007-02-26]

Influences

Shearing's interest in classical music resulted in some performances with concert orchestras in the 1950s and 1960s, and his solos frequently draw upon the music of Debussy and, particularly, Erik Satie for inspiration. Shearing also made a recording with the classical French horn player Barry Tuckwell.

Playing career

Beginnings

Though offered several scholarships, Shearing opted to perform at local pub, the Mason's Arms in Lambeth, for "25 bob a week"cite web|url=http://www.jazzprofessional.com/interviews/George%20Shearing_1|title=George Shearing: How I found the Sound|author=George Shearing w/ Les Tomkins|date=1966|accessdate=2007-02-26] playing piano and accordion. He even joined an all-blind band during that time and was influenced by the albums of Teddy Wilson and Fats Waller. He made his first BBC radio appearance during this time after befriending Leonard Feather, whom he started recording with in 1937. In 1940 , Shearing joined Harry Parry's popular band and contributed to the comeback of Stéphane Grappelli. Shearing also won seven consecutive Melody Maker polls during this time. Around that time he was also a member of George Evans' Saxes 'n' Sevens band.

The US years

In 1947, Shearing moved to the United States, where he began to play in a harmonically complex style that mixed swing, bop and modern classical influences. One of his first gigs in the States was at the Hickory House. He performed with the Oscar Pettiford Trio and led a quartet with Buddy DeFranco, which led to recording problems since Shearing was with MGM and DeFranco was with Capitol Records. In 1949, he formed the first "George Shearing Quintet", a band with Marjorie Hyams (vibraphone), Chuck Wayne (guitar), John Levy (bass) and Denzil Best (drums) and recorded for Discovery, Savoy and MGM, including the immensely popular single, "September in the Rain" (MGM), which sold over 900,000 copies. Shearing himself would write of this hit that it was "as accidental as it could be."

In 1956, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He continued to play with his quintet, with augmented players through the years, and recorded with Capitol until 1969. He created his own label, Sheba, that lasted a few years.

1970s

Starting in 1970, Shearing began to "phase out his by-now-predictable quintet" and disbanded the group finally in 1978. One of his more notable albums during this period of time (1976) done in collaboration with bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer Rusty Jones (musician), is "The Reunion, With George Shearing" (Verve), which featured Stéphane Grappelli, the musician he had debuted with as a sideman many years before. Later, Shearing played with a trio, as a solo and increasingly in duo. Among his collaborations have been sets with the Montgomery Brothers, Marian McPartland, Brian Q. Torff, Jim Hall, Hank Jones and Kenny Davern. In 1979, Shearing signed with Concord Records, in particular working with Mel Tormé. This collaboration garnered Shearing and Tormé two Grammys, one in 1982 and then another in the following year.

Musical collaborations

Over the years, Shearing has also collaborated with singers including Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Ernestine Anderson, Dakota Staton, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson and, most notably, Mel Tormé, with whom he performed frequently in the late 80s and early 90s at festivals, on radio and for recordings.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Shearing performed and recorded extensively in a duo format with the extraordinary Canadian bassist Neil Swainson.

Shearing collaborated with the John Pizzarelli Trio to create the album "The Rare Delight of You", which garnered extremely good reviews. The album cover, featuring Pizzarelli and Shearing posing in front of a solid blue background, was designed to resemble the cover of "Nat King Cole Sings, George Shearing Plays", a legendary jazz recording with which it shares some similarities in style.A performance of Shearing's at Birdland is vividly described in Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road (part 2, chapter 4).

Recognition

*Performed for US Presidents:*Gerald Ford:*Jimmy Carter:*Ronald Reagan
*Performed at Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
*Mentioned in Jack Kerouac's 1957 novel "On the Road"
*In 1975, received honorary degree of Doctor of Music from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.
*In 1978, received the Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans.
*Grammys::*1982 - "An Evening With George Shearing And Mel Tormé":*1983
*In 1993, received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement.
*In 1994, received honorary degree of Doctor of Music from Hamilton College in New York State.
*In 1996, was included in the Queens Birthday Honours List and 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."
*In 1998, received the first American Music Award by the National Arts Club, New York, New York.
*In 2003, received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" from BBC Jazz Awards. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3107607.stm BBC Jazz Awards] ]
*In 2007, was knighted for services to Music.

Discography

*1947 "Piano Solo" — Savoy
*1949 "Midnight on Cloud 69" — Savoy
*1949 "George Shearing Quintet" — Discovery
*1950 "You're Hearing the George Shearing Quartet" — MGM
*1951 "An Evening with the George Shearing Quintet"
*1951 "Souvenirs" — London
*1951 "Touch of Genius" — MGM
*1952 "I Hear Music" — Metro
*1955 "Shearing Caravan" — MGM
*1955 "Shearing in Hi Fi" — MGM
*1955 "The Shearing Spell" — Capitol
*1956 "Latin Escapade" — Capitol
*1956 "Black Satin" — Capitol
*1956 "By Request" — London
*1956 "Velvet Carpet" — Capitol
*1957 "Shearing on Stage" — Capitol
*1958 "Blue Chiffon" — Capitol
*1958 "Burnished Brass" — Capitol
*1958 "Latin Lace" — Capitol
*1958 "George Shearing on Stage!" — Capitol
*1958 "Latin Affair" — Capitol
*1958 "In the Night with Dakota Staton" — Capitol
*1959 "Satin Brass" — Capitol
*1959 "Satin Latin" — MGM
*1960 "San Francisco Scene" — Capitol
*1960 "On the Sunny Side of the Strip" — GNP
*1960 "The Shearing Touch" — Pausa
*1960 "White Satin" — Capitol
*1961 "George Shearing and the Montgomery Brothers" — Jazz
*1961 "Mood Latino" — Capitol
*1961 "Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays" — Capitol
*1961 "Satin Affair" — Capitol
*1961 "The Swingin's Mutual!" — Blue Note
*1962 "Jazz Moments" — Blue Note
*1962 "Shearing Bossa Nova" — Capitol
*1962 "Soft and Silky" — MGM
*1963 "Touch Me Softly" — Capitol
*1963 "Jazz Concert" — Capitol
*1963 "Rare Form" — Capitol
*1963 "Old Gold and Ivory" — Capitol
*1963 "Latin Rendezvous" — Capitol
*1964 "Out of the Woods" — Capitol
*1964 "Deep Velvet" — Capitol
*1966 "That Fresh Feeling" — Capitol
*1969 "In the Mind" — Capitol
*1970 "Out of This World" — Sheba
*1971 "Music Is to Hear: Joe Williams" — Sheba
*1972 "As Requested" —Sheba
*1972 "The George Shearing Quartet" — Sheba
*1973 "Gas" — Sheba
*1973 "The George Shearing Trio, Vol. 1"
*1974 "My Ship" —Polydor
*1974 "Light Airy and Swinging" — MPS
*1974 "The Way We Are" — BASF
*1975 "Continental Experience" — BASF
*1976 "The Reunion" — Pausa
*1977 "500 Miles High"
*1979 "Getting in the Swing of Things" — Pausa
*1979 "Live" — Concord Jazz
*1979 "Blues Alley Jazz" — Concord Jazz
*1979 "Concerto for Classic Guitar and Jazz Piano" — Angel
*1980 "Two for the Road" — Concord
*1980 "In Concert at the Pavilion" — Concord Jazz
*1980 "On a Clear Day" — Concord Jazz
*1980 "Windows" — Pausa
*1981 "Alone Together" — Concord Jazz
*1981 "First Edition" — Concord Jazz
*1982 "An Evening with George Shearing & Mel Tormé"
*1983 "Top Drawer" — Concord Jazz
*1984 "Live at the Cafe Carlyle" — Concord
*1985 "An Elegant Evening" — Concord Jazz
*1985 "Grand Piano" — Concord Jazz
*1986 "Plays Music of Cole Porter" — Concord
*1986 "More Grand Piano" — Concord Jazz
*1987 "Breakin' Out" — Concord Jazz
*1987 "Dexterity" — Concord Jazz
*1988 "The Spirit of 176" — Concord Jazz
*1988 "Perfect Match" — Concord Jazz
*1989 "George Shearing in Dixieland" — Concord
*1989 "Piano" — Concord Jazz
*1991 "Get Happy!" - EMI Classics
*1992 ""
*1992 "" — Telarc
*1992 "How Beautiful Is Night" — Telarc
*1994 "That Shearing Sound" — Telarc
*1994 "Great Britain's Marian McPartland & George Shearing" — Savoy Jazz
*1994 "Cocktail for Two" — Jazz World
*1995 ""
*1997 "Favorite Things" — Telarc
*1998 "Christmas with George Shearing Quintet"
*2000 "" — Jazz Band
*2001 "Live at the Forum, Bath 1992" — BBC Legends
*2001 "Back to Birdland" — Telarc
*2002 "Pick Yourself Up" — Past Perfect
*2005 "Music to Hear" — Koch
*2006 "Live Jazz from Club 15" — Request
*2006 "Swinging in a Latin Mood" — Universal

References

External links

* [http://www.georgeshearing.net George Shearing.net]
* [http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/shearing_george/albums.jhtml George Shearing discography] (at VH1)
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0790471/ Profile at IMDB]