Jazz Articles about George Shearing

George Shearing: Lullabies of Birdland - A Musical Autobiography

by Russell Moon
April 23, 2004

George Shearing has written an autobiography entitled Lullaby of Birdland. To coincide with its release, Concord has issued a 2-CD set of the pianist's recordings, entitled Lullabies of Birdland. Most of the selections are from Shearing's 1980s Concord canon, but works from other labels are also here, including three early recordings from MGM and two 1990s items from Telarc. The songs are presented in chronological order.

Shearing is not known as a father of the cool school, but the three ...

George Shearing/Cannonball Adderley Quintets: At Newport

by C. Michael Bailey
April 17, 2003

The Newport Jazz Festival, July 5, 1957.

At Newport is a potent study in contrasts. Presented here are back-to-back sets, all previously unreleased, by the respective quintets at the 1957 event. Adderley’s band emits the Southern funk of the Delta, the church, and the roadhouse, testifying the cleansing fire of the blues. Shearing, on the other hand, exudes a polished British urbanity as heard in "the Shearing Sound," with its combination of high end vibes, low end guitar, ...

George Shearing (Koch Jazz: The Heart and Soul of Joe Williams and George Shearing / Out of this World

by C. Michael Bailey
December 1, 2001

Title:The Heart and Soul of Joe Williams and George Shearing / Out of this World

Year:2001

Artist Name:George Shearing

Record Label:Koch Jazz (51001 / 51002)

Genre:Mainstream

Koch Jazz's George Shearing Collector's Series.

Hailing from London, George Shearing has been making music for the past six decades. He has been on hand for the development of Jazz since Be Bop. He penned the standard “Lullaby of Birdland" as well as the oft-cited “Conception. Presently are two Koch Jazz re-releases of two ...

George Shearing: Back To Birdland

by AAJ Staff
July 1, 2001

Back To Birdland is aptly named. The man most closely associated with the club returned, not to the original Birdland on Broadway, but to the newly reconstituted club on 44th Street. And George Shearing--whose mastery of the piano gained heightened appreciation after he left his might-as-well-be-patented quintet format for vibrant trios, memorable vocal partnerships, exceptional duos with Brian Torff and one-of-a-kind work with Mel Tormé --returned in the year 2000, almost a half century later, to the same style that ...

George Shearing - Brian Torff: Lullaby Of Birdland

by AAJ Staff
January 1, 2001

With the re-release of two earlier albums in the 2-CD Lullaby Of Birdland compilation, Concord has accomplished more than recalling the George Shearing's association with the label. Concord is giving proof of the reason for it.Simply put, Lullaby Of Birdland provides the evidence for Concord's signing of Shearing. The two albums within, Blues Alley Jazz and On A Clear Day, present Shearing in a duo with bassist Brian Torff that engages audiences on two coasts: one at the ...

George Shearing: Reflections

by AAJ Staff
September 1, 2000

In celebration of his eighty-first year, Telarc is releasing a tidy and organized package of George Shearing's work on the eight albums he has recorded on the label in the past eight years. Reflections is notable because it was carefully produced to compare Shearing's styles as it showcases his ultimate consistency and strengths. At the same time, the album serves as a reminder that Telarc has surrounded Shearing with a variety of formats, and he has recorded in a variety ...

The George Shearing Quintet: Christmas With The George Shearing Quintet

by C. Michael Bailey
January 1, 1999

Review Redux. I was just putting the finishing touches on my January review of Christmas with The George Shearing Quintet when I read the December reviews and found that my colleague Douglas Payne had already covered this ground. I thought, “Drat, he did not miss one stylistic or compositional allusion that I heard" (with the exception of Shearing's quote of “Boplicity" in “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow"). I am not going to cover Mr. Payne's ground; ...