British jazz pianist and composer whose signature sound is marked by a unique quintet arrangement that includes bass, guitar, drums, and vibraphone.
George Shearing
Dictionary:
Shear·ing (shîr'ĭng)  , George Albert
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British jazz pianist and composer whose signature sound is marked by a unique quintet arrangement that includes bass, guitar, drums, and vibraphone.
| Artist: George Shearing |
Similar Artists:
Paul Smith,
Jimmy Rowles,
André Previn,
Dave Brubeck,
Eddie Higgins,
Ray Drummond,
Peter Nero,
Tito Puente,
Louis Stewart
Influenced By:
Bill Evans,
Boogie ,
Teddy Wilson,
Fats Waller,
Lennie Tristano,
Horace Silver,
Bud Powell,
Earl Hines,
Milt Buckner
Followers:
Dorothy Ashby,
Cal Tjader,
Todd Rhodes,
Oscar Peterson,
Buddy Greco,
Terry Lower,
Rodgers Grant ,
Martin Denny
Performed Songs By:
Worked With:
John Snyder,
Andy Simpkins,
Jack Renner ,
Carl Jefferson,
Phil Edwards ,
Mel Tormé,
Neil Swainson,
Stéphane Grappelli
Formal Connection With:
- Born: August 13, 1919, London, England
- Active: '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
- Genres: Jazz
- Instrument: Piano, Leader
- Representative Albums: "September in the Rain," "Reflections: The Best of George Shearing, 1992-1998," "The Swingin's Mutual!"
- Representative Songs: "Lullaby of Birdland," "East of the Sun (And West of," "Conception"
Biography
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 tends 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 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 tons of records for MGM and Capitol in his heyday.The wild success of this urbane sound obscures Shearing's other great contribution during this time, for he was also a pioneer of exciting, small-combo Afro-Cuban jazz in the 1950s. Indeed, 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 is best known for the imperishable, uniquely constructed bop standard "Lullaby of Birdland," as well as "Conception" and "Consternation." His solo style, though all his own, reflects 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 have long admired his light, refined touch. He has also been known to play accordion and sing in a modest voice 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 1930s, 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 Stephane Grappelli's London-based groups of the early 1940s, 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 into his bloodstream, 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 (thus striking an important blow for emerging female jazz instrumentalists), 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 (1950-55) and Capitol (1955-69), the latter for which he made albums with Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee and Nat 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-now-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 in all kinds of situations. He made a number of acclaimed albums with Mel Torme, 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 come into play. He continued to play beautifully in several formats after signing with Telarc in 1992, extending what had become one of the longest, most prolific recording careers in jazz history. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
| Discography: George Shearing |
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| Wikipedia: George Shearing |
| George Shearing | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 13, 1919 |
| Origin | Battersea, London, UK |
| Genres | Jazz bebop Swing Cool jazz |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1950s — present |
| Labels | MGM Records Capitol Records Concord Records Savoy Records |
Sir George Shearing OBE (born August 13, 1919, Battersea, London) is an Anglo-American jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group which recorded for MGM Records and Capitol Records. The composer of over 300 titles, he has had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s.[1]
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.
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.
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Early life
Shearing 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.[2]
Though offered several scholarships, Shearing opted to perform at local pub, the Mason's Arms in Lambeth, for "25 bob a week"[3] 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.[1] He made his first BBC radio appearance during this time after befriending Leonard Feather, whom he started recording with in 1937.[2] 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 U.S. years
In 1947, Shearing emigrated to the United States, where his harmonically complex style 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 contractual problems since Shearing was with MGM and DeFranco was with Capitol Records. In 1949, he formed the first "George Shearing Quintet", a band with Margie Hyams (vibraphone), Chuck Wayne (guitar), later replaced by Toots Thielemans (billed as John Tillman), 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; "my other hit" to accompany "Lullaby of Birdland". Shearing himself would write of this hit that it was "as accidental as it could be."[3]
In 1956, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.[3] 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
In 1970 he began to "phase out his by-now-predictable quintet"[1] and disbanded the group in 1978. One of his more notable albums during this period of time The Reunion, With George Shearing (Verve 1976) made in collaboration with bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer Rusty Jones (musician), which featured Stéphane Grappelli, the musician with whom he had debuted as a sideman decades 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 1983 and then another in the following year.
Musical collaborations
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 Canadian bassist Neil Swainson. Shearing also made a recording with the classical French horn player Barry Tuckwell.
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.
Recognition
- Performed for U.S. Presidents
- Performed at Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
- In 1957, Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road contains a scene describing a Shearing concert
- In 1975, received honorary degree of Doctor of Music from Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah.
- In 1978, received the Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans.
- Grammys:
- In 1993, received the Ivor Novello Awards for Lifetime Achievement.
- In 1994, received honorary degree of Doctor of Music from Hamilton College in New York.
- 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 City.
- In 2003, received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" from BBC Jazz Awards.[4]
- 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
- 1959 Beauty and the Beat! (with Peggy Lee) — Capitol
- 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 (with Nat King Cole) — Capitol
- 1961 Satin Affair — Capitol
- 1961 The Swingin's Mutual! (with Nancy Wilson) — 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 [disambiguation needed] — 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 (Live, with Mel Tormé)
- 1983 Top Drawer — Concord Jazz (Live, with Mel Tormé)
- 1984 Live at the Cafe Carlyle — Concord
- 1985 An Elegant Evening — Concord Jazz (with Mel Tormé)
- 1985 Grand Piano — Concord Jazz
- 1986 Plays Music of Cole Porter — Concord
- 1986 More Grand Piano — Concord Jazz
- 1987 A Vintage Year — Concord Jazz (Live, with Mel Tormé)
- 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
- 1990
Mel and George "Do" World War II — Concord (Live, with Mel Tormé) - 1991 Get Happy! - EMI Classics
- 1992 I Hear a Rhapsody: Live at the Blue Note
- 1992 Walkin': Live at the Blue Note — 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 Paper Moon: Songs of Nat King Cole
- 1997 Favorite Things — Telarc
- 1998 Christmas with The George Shearing Quintet — Telarc
- 2000 Just for You: Live in the 1950s — Jazz Band
- 2001 Live at the Forum, Bath 1992 — BBC Legends
- 2001 Back to Birdland — Telarc
- 2002 The Rare Delight of You (with John Pizzarelli) - Telarc
- 2002 Pick Yourself Up — Past Perfect
- 2004 Like Fine Wine — Mack Avenue
- 2005 Music to Hear — Koch
- 2005 Hopeless Romantics (with Michael Feinstein) — Concord
- 2006 Live Jazz from Club 15 — Request
- 2006 Swinging in a Latin Mood — Universal
Concert filmography
- 2003 George Shearing - Jazz Legend
- 2004 George Shearing: Lullaby of Birdland[5]
- 2004 Swing Era - George Shearing
- 2004 Joe Williams with George Shearing: A Song is Born[6]
- 2005 Duo Featuring Neil Swainson
References
- ^ a b c Richard S. Ginell. "George Shearing". http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:8q4tk6sx9krf. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
- ^ a b "George Shearing Biography". http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=1961. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
- ^ a b c George Shearing w/ Les Tomkins (1966). "George Shearing: How I found the Sound". http://www.jazzprofessional.com/interviews/George%20Shearing_1. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
- ^ BBC Jazz Awards
- ^ VIEW DVD Listing
- ^ VIEW DVD Listing
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
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Mentioned in
- Duke Ellington: Solitude (Music Film)
- Jazz Showcase (1994 Album by Various Artists)
- Claude Bolling: Concerto for Classic Guitar and Jazz Piano (1982 Music Film)
- How Beautiful Is Night (1992 Album by George Shearing)
- Satin Affair/Concerto for My Love (1995 Album by George Shearing)
- Burnished Brass/Satin Brass (2002 Album by George Shearing)
- Natalie Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays (198 Album by Natalie Cole)
- An Evening at Charlie's (1983 Album by Mel Tormé & George Shearing)
- The Best of Billy May, Vol. 1 (1951 Album by Billy May Orchestra)
- Alone Together (1981 Album by George Shearing with Marian Mc Partland)
- Late Night Piano (1998 Album by Various Artists)
- Christmas with George Shearing Quintet (1998 Album by George Shearing)
- Latin Lace/Latin Affair (1999 Album by George Shearing)
- The Shearing Spell/Velvet Carpet (2000 Album by George Shearing)
