Jazz breaking news: George Shearing Dies
Monday, February 14, 2011
Forever known for the standard ‘Lullaby of Birdland’ which he wrote in 1952 the British-born pianist George Shearing has died of heart failure at the age of 91.
From Battersea in London Shearing emigrated to the States in 1947 and quickly became known for his hit ‘September In The Rain’, and his quintet was a popular draw even turning on the Beats to jazz, memorably recalled in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road.
Blind since birth Shearing was attracted to bebop, but his style was not the full-on ferociousness of the music, rather a channelled lyricism which made a direct impact with his growing numbers of listeners. Shearing changed the personnel of his group many times over the years but kept it going until the late-1970s eventually tiring of it. But in the 80s he put the band together again for a Carnegie Hall concert although he preferred to play in duos with a bass player as his career developed and also performed with the singer Mel Torme, aka the Velvet Fog.
Influenced initially by Art Tatum and Fats Waller, Shearing attended the Shilington School for the Blind and the Linden Lodge School in London. He began his professional career as a teenager and became well enough known to win a Melody Maker poll before leaving for the States.
Shearing in the States developed his own style based around the vibes, guitar, bass and drums and recorded for MGM and Capitol labels but he later formed his own company which he called Sheba before recording for the Concord label. Late in his career Shearing wrote an autobiography and was honoured by the BBC. He duetted with another expatriate Marian McPartland and other veterans including the late Hank Jones. He was awarded at OBE in 1996 and was knighted in 2007.
- Stephen Graham