George Shearing

George Shearing (born 13 August 1919 in London) is a well-known jazz pianist. British-American jazz pianist Source: http://www. ... August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom. ... Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans. ... Pianist Glenn Gould, Toronto, 1974 A pianist is a person who plays the piano. ...

Shearing was born blind and started to learn piano at the age of three. After limited training and extensive listening to recorded jazz, he began playing at hotels, clubs and pubs in the London area, sometimes solo, occasionally with dance bands.

In 1940, Shearing joined Harry Parry's popular band and became a star in Britain, performing for the BBC, playing with Stéphane Grappelli's London-based groups of the early 1940s, and winning seven consecutive Melody Maker polls. 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Founded in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company Ltd (a privately owned company), subsequently Incorporated and nationalised in 1927 as The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC, also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world. ... Django (left) & Grappelli (right). ...

In 1946, Shearing established himself in the United States. In 1955, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Naturalization is the process whereby a person becomes a national of a nation, or a citizen of a country, other than the one of his birth. ...

Leading a quintet (piano with guitar, bass, drums and vibraphone), which over the years included Cal Tjader, Margie Hyams, Denzil Best, Israel Crosby, Joe Pass and Gary Burton, Shearing had a succession of hugely popular records including "September In The Rain" and his own composition, "Lullaby Of Birdland" (1952). His style, including the joint playing of the melody by piano and vibraphone, was also widely copied, becoming part of the idiom of pop music, so that his records from that period now sound far less innovative than they did at the time. Cal Tjader (July 16, 1925–May 5, 1982) was an American Latin jazz musician. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Passalaqua, January 13, 1929, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, died May 23, 1994, Los Angeles, California), was a virtuoso jazz guitarist. ... Gary Burton (born on 23 January 1943 in Anderson, Indiana) is a jazz vibraphone player, known for developing the then-innovative technique of playing the instrument with four mallets, rather than the usual two. ... A typical Ludwig-Musser vibraphone. ... For Popular music (music that is popular, rather than being of a specific genre or style), see Popular music. ...

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. Marian McPartland, born Margaret Marian Turner on March 21, 1918 in England near Slough, Buckinghamshire, is a British jazz pianist. ... Brian Q. Torff Brian Q. Torff (born March 16, 1954 in Hinsdale, Illinois) is a world renowned bassist and composer, and is currently Music Program Director at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. ... James Stanley Hall (born December 4, 1930) is a jazz guitarist and composer. ... Born July 31, 1918 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Hank Jones grew up in Pontiac, Michigan, where he studied piano at an early age and came under the influence of Earl Hines, Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson, and Art Tatum. ... John Kenneth Davern, better known as Kenny Davern is one of the premier jazz clarinetists of his generation. ...

In the 1970s, Shearing's profile had been lowered considerably, but upon signing with Concord Records in 1979, Shearing found himself enjoying a renaissance. Concord Records is a well-known Beverly Hills, California based jazz record label. ...

Over the years, Shearing has also collaborated with singers including Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Ernestine Anderson, Carmen McRae, and, most notably, Mel Tormé, with whom he performed frequently in the late 80s and early 90s at festivals, on radio and for recordings. For other uses, see King Cole (disambiguation). ... Peggy Lee (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. ... Ernestine Anderson (born November 11, 1928, in Houston, Texas) is a jazz and blues singer. ... Carmen McRae (April 8, 1920-November 10, 1994) was an American jazz vocalist. ... Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999) was a jazz and standards singer with a light, high-tenor voice. ...

Recently, 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. John Paul Pizzarelli Jr. ...

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. Claude Debussy Achille-Claude Debussy (IPA ) (August 22, 1862 – March 25, 1918) was a French composer. ... Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (Honfleur, 17 May 1866 – Paris, 1 July 1925) was a French composer and pianist. ... The horn is a brass instrument consisting of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. ... Professor Barry Tuckwell, AC, OBE, (born 1931) is an Australian French horn player who spent much of his working life in the UK. He was born in Melbourne and joined the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at 15, only a year after starting on the horn. ...

Shearing wrote a number of jazz arrangements of hymn tunes for the organ in collaboration with organist Dale Wood, that have been published in sheet music form. The organ of Bristol Cathedral, Bristol, England. ... Dale Wood (February 13, 1934 - April 13, 2003) was a musician and composer best known for his church music compositions. ... Sheet music is written representation of music. ...

Trivia

An impromptu appearance in a Chicago night club by 'Great God Shearing' is mentioned in Jack Kerouac's magnum opus, On The Road. Jack Kerouac (pronounced ) (March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969) was an American novelist, writer, poet, artist, and part of the Beat Generation. ... On the Road book cover On the Road is a novel by Jack Kerouac, published by Viking Press in 1957. ...

External link

• George Shearing discography (at VH1)