BillF Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Posted February 15, 2011 When I was a kid, the Shearing vibes-piano-guitar block chord sound represented an idealized vision of suave, post-war adulthood. I thought the vibes were ice cubes being dropped into a glass. Yes, around 1950 when I was 10 the BBC Light Programme (forerunner of Radio 2) churned out hours of that Shearing-type sound. There was a factory near my school full of young women operatives and that sound came out of the windows all day. (This was also the era of "Workers' Playtime".) Quote
BillF Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Posted February 15, 2011 Saw Shearing only once - in Leeds in the mid-60s. His group shared a double bill with Junior Mance's. I recall that Mance had Bob Cranshaw on bass and Shearing had Red Mitchell. Quote
Hardbopjazz Posted February 15, 2011 Report Posted February 15, 2011 (edited) Sad, but he left us a lot of music to always remember him by each day. RIP Sir George. Thanks. I will surely spin some of your music tonight. "In the Night" with Nancy Wilson and "George Shearing and the Montgomery Brothers" are two of my favorites. Edited February 15, 2011 by Hardbopjazz Quote
Peter Friedman Posted February 15, 2011 Report Posted February 15, 2011 I recall going with my friend John Norris to hear Shearing in the mid 90's at The Montreal Bistro in Toronto. George had Reg Schwager on guitar, Neil Swainson on bass, (don't remember the name of the drummer). The room was packed and we had to stand during the set. The music was , as one expects from Shearing, well arranged and with a delicate, yet swinging chamber music feeling. I enjoyed the set very much. The audience responded to the music with great enthusiasm. Quote
BeBop Posted February 15, 2011 Report Posted February 15, 2011 I wish I had a collection of stories from his practical jokes at hand. Quote
mikeweil Posted February 15, 2011 Report Posted February 15, 2011 (edited) What a coincidence - I had ordered the Birdland Broadcasts CD a few weeks ago and only today it arrived - great stuff. I was listening to Shearing only during the 500 km I had to drive today. There is a hilarious moment in the second broadcast when Shearing imitates a handful of famous pianists to real perfection, the last being Erroll Garner, after which the MC introduces him as "Erroll Garfinkle" ... Edited February 15, 2011 by mikeweil Quote
DMP Posted February 16, 2011 Report Posted February 16, 2011 Shearing does his Erroll Garner routine on "Shearing On Stage," from 1958 - and the college audience seems to get it (as well as the crack about Randy Weston and Thelonius Monk)! 1958 - truly another age. (Of course, with a Capitol "live" album, you never know...) Anyway, you can't get much classier than George Shearing. Quote
shaft Posted February 18, 2011 Report Posted February 18, 2011 I just loved this guy! I especually like his collaboration with Nat Cole and his Live Capitol Sides. Totally classy stuff! /Shaft Quote
alocispepraluger102 Posted February 18, 2011 Report Posted February 18, 2011 wonderful nancy wilson interview on shearing on npr. the swingin's mutual has been on my topself for generations. nancy wilson discusses shearing Quote
alocispepraluger102 Posted February 19, 2011 Report Posted February 19, 2011 (edited) strangely, shearing, in an interview with wkcr host, cliff price, listed his album with nat cole as his favorite. Edited February 19, 2011 by alocispepraluger102 Quote
king ubu Posted February 21, 2011 Report Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) Is it correct that the early 90s "The Swingin's Mutual" was one of these botched jobs where the album running order was changed and bonus tracks added in the midst (the latter I do know)? Was the 2004 or so reissue a major improval? It was a copycrapsh*t thingie over here so I never even looked at it, but I might try and get one from the US if it's worth. Just playing "Jazz Moments" for the very fist time as I'm typing - good one! Fournier is on some of the Capitol live material, but having Crosby in with him, too, is a thrill! EDIT: another question: there's this Japanese edition of "Jazz Moments" with several bonus tracks - anyone knows what these are? Edited February 21, 2011 by king ubu Quote
mikeweil Posted February 22, 2011 Report Posted February 22, 2011 (edited) Is it correct that the early 90s "The Swingin's Mutual" was one of these botched jobs where the album running order was changed and bonus tracks added in the midst (the latter I do know)? Was the 2004 or so reissue a major improval? It was a copycrapsh*t thingie over here so I never even looked at it, but I might try and get one from the US if it's worth. They added a few bonus tracks from the sessions, both vocal and instrumental - good music. As I never heard the original LP sequence, I didn't mind. Just playing "Jazz Moments" for the very fist time as I'm typing - good one! Fournier is on some of the Capitol live material, but having Crosby in with him, too, is a thrill! EDIT: another question: there's this Japanese edition of "Jazz Moments" with several bonus tracks - anyone knows what these are? This was not Crosby's last recording session! The last one was three tracks for Sam Jones' Down Home LP on Riverside on June 25, 1962, Fournier was playing, too. No idea about the bonus tracks, though .... Edited February 22, 2011 by mikeweil Quote
king ubu Posted February 22, 2011 Report Posted February 22, 2011 Thanks Mike! I've got that Sam Jones album (why, of course! all three of his Riversides are good!). The 2004 reissue of "The Swingin's Mutual seems to have added even more tracks - there are 20 on the 2004 reissue, and #1-12 there restores the original LP sequence. From the 8 bonus tracks on the 2004 release, the first two and the last one (Stablemates, Ghost of Yesterday and Silk) were not on the 1992 CD. Not sure all of that is enough to replace it, but this looks like a botched job on the 1992 CD to me... similar (though not nearly as bad) as when they did June Christy's "Something Cool" the first time (there I do have both CD reissues, though most of the bonus tracks from the earlier reissue are also available elsewhere). Quote
mikeweil Posted February 22, 2011 Report Posted February 22, 2011 The 2004 reissue of "The Swingin's Mutual seems to have added even more tracks - there are 20 on the 2004 reissue, and #1-12 there restores the original LP sequence. From the 8 bonus tracks on the 2004 release, the first two and the last one (Stablemates, Ghost of Yesterday and Silk) were not on the 1992 CD. Oh! I didn't know about that, and since my copy of the Shearing/Wilson is nowhere to be found ... ... thanks for pointing this out! Quote
Larry Kart Posted February 23, 2011 Report Posted February 23, 2011 Shearing's harmonization of "Over The Rainbow," realized by an unidentified pianist: Also, tonight I was listening to his "Velvet Carpet" (Capitol), apparently the first quintet with strings album, charts by Shearing and Dennis Farnon. The harmonization of "'Round Midnight" (for one) is quite something. Also, those walking-ballad grooves that Shearing seemed to have a patent on, with Al McKibbon (I assume) putting "one" right on top of the beat and playing his ass off. Makes me wonder again if Jamal was a Shearing fan. Quote
mikeweil Posted February 23, 2011 Report Posted February 23, 2011 He must have been watching Jamal's career - when Jamal disbanded his trio with Israel Crosby and Vernel Fournier, he hired the two on the spot! Quote
mikeweil Posted February 23, 2011 Report Posted February 23, 2011 While we're at it - is there a recommendable book on Shearing? Quote
Larry Kart Posted February 23, 2011 Report Posted February 23, 2011 He must have been watching Jamal's career - when Jamal disbanded his trio with Israel Crosby and Vernel Fournier, he hired the two on the spot! But the question is whether Jamal (b. 1930) dug Shearing in his formative years. Certainly possible time-wise, and I think style-wise, too, up to a point. Shearing's hiring of Crosby and Fournier could have been because of that (possible) underlying musical kinship. Quote
mikeweil Posted February 23, 2011 Report Posted February 23, 2011 I think Jamal's and Shearing's conceptions are much too different - except for the trio LP Jazz Moments with Crosby, Shearing never left as much space in his music which Jamal did all the time. The way they shape solos is very different, methinks.I hear lots of linear bop in Shearing, as though he had dug Tristano just as muich as Bud Powell - a trait which I rarely hear in Jamal. Quote
Teasing the Korean Posted February 25, 2011 Report Posted February 25, 2011 This is always a staple of Teasing the Korean's DJ sets, from the great MPS label: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnIcYYW2A4w Quote
mmilovan Posted March 17, 2011 Report Posted March 17, 2011 Posted by Win Hinkle and Juan Torras Barba, here: http://www.jazzwax.com/2011/02/george-shearing-1919-2011.html Very few people have made the comparison but I believe that Bill Evans owes a great deat to Shearing. (...) George influenced master Bill Evans very much.He did not missed any Shearing concerts in the 50's. Quote
mikeweil Posted March 17, 2011 Report Posted March 17, 2011 (edited) I got me some more Shearing - seems I should have checked out his Capitol albums more thoroughly. This is a real classic. I never before heard a pianist so authentically merging his classical grounds with standard material and various jazz piano stylistics as personally as Shearing does on this album. I didn't get the idea when this was first released on CD and passed it on, but now ... Hearing influences of Tatum, Wilson and Waller side by side with Poulenc and Satie without getting the impression of an endless series of quotes, that's quite an achievement. This transcends categories and simply is great piano playing! Another classic - I'm deeply impressed. The way they render Everything Happens to Me is unreal!One nasty sidenote: They could have titled this album Black & Blind ..... Edited March 17, 2011 by mikeweil Quote
rivieraranch Posted December 12, 2011 Report Posted December 12, 2011 I just read his Biography, "Lullaby of Birdland" written in 2004. Had not known he was divorced from his first wife. The book mentioned that she died but did not say how, when. They had a daughter but the book contains no pictures of her. He does not go into what happened to her. The book overall was disappointing because it did not reveal a lot of personal things that a reader would be interested in knowing. Quote
David Gitin Posted December 12, 2011 Report Posted December 12, 2011 wonderful nancy wilson interview on shearing on npr. the swingin's mutual has been on my topself for generations. nancy wilson discusses shearing I heard Nancy and George together (on a bill with Canonball Adderley...they had the same manager) 50 years ago in Buffalo. Memorable (clearly)! Quote
_forumlogo.png.a607ef20a6e0c299ab2aa6443aa1f32e.png)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.