George Shearing

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Cat No: 8120823

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Release Date: 01 January 2006

Label: Naxos - Jazz Legends / Naxos Jazz Legends

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 636943282328

Genres: Jazz

Description
GEORGE SHEARING'Lullaby of Birdland' Original Recordings 1947-1952When George Shearing burst on the Americanjazz scene in 1949, he had everything goingagainst him. First of all, Shearing was English,and few European jazz musicians had everbecome popular in the United States. Add tothat the fact that he was blind, white, andplayed the piano and you can begin to realizethe odds against making it in the competitivejazz scene on 52nd Street in New York, whensuch powerhouses as Art Tatum, Bud Powell,and Thelonious Monk were changing the wayjazz was played. Despite all of these factors,George Shearing not only created a sound of hisown, he became a huge commercial success,inventing a sound that helped make jazzaccessible to a variety of audiences in the 1950s.Born in London on 13 August 1919, GeorgeAlbert Shearing was blind from birth. Heattended the Linden Lodge School for the Blind,and although he studied classical piano, heshowed an aptitude for improvisation from thestart. In the late '30s, Shearing toured with anall blind band led by Claude Bampton. He wasslowly learning about jazz by listening toAmerican records such as \Stratosphere byJimmie Lunceford and "Caravan" by DukeEllington. After a stint with Bert Ambrose's octetin the early '40s, (where he absorbed elementsof the Glenn Miller saxophone sectionharmonies), he joined noted French swingviolinist Stephane Grappelli. A friendship withfellow Englishman composer and jazz criticLeonard Feather led him to visit America in1946. In 1947, he went to stay.Shearing listened incessantly to Americanjazz pianists, from stride kings Fats Waller andEarl Hines to Teddy Wilson and Meade 'Lux'Lewis. But the pianists who were the greatestinfluence on Shearing were Bud Powell, ErrollGarner, Hank Jones, and Art Tatum. ThroughPowell, Shearing learned the explosive andaggressive technique of one of bebop's pioneers.Garner and Jones's music taught him that hecould play bebop without being raucous. ButTatum's awesome abilities were what proved tobe the most influential of all.Consequently, when he arrived in America, itwas Tatum, another blind musician, whomShearing sought out. Many pianists were in suchawe of Tatum's unbelievable technique, that hewas referred to as 'God'. According to Shearing,'When I first met him, I said, "Mr. Tatum, I'vebeen listening to your records for years, and I'vecopied so many of your things. I'm reallyoverjoyed to meet you". And he said, "Glad tomeet you, son. Gonna buy me a beer?" He reallybrings you right down to earth.'In the States, Shearing got a job at theHickory House, where he played everything fromcocktail piano to bebop. At The Three Deuces,he replaced Erroll Garner in a trio led by OscarPettiford. Eventually he began listening to LionelHampton's piano player, Milt Buckner, whoplayed in what was known as the 'locked hands'style, in which the left hand played block chordsin unison with the right hand, rather thanplaying repeated rhythm figures as stride orboogie pianists did.
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