Shearing was born in the Battersea area of London, United Kingdom. Congenitally blind, he was the youngest of nine children. He started to learn piano at the age of three. After limited training and extensive listening to recorded jazz, he began playing at hotels, clubs and pubs in the London area, sometimes solo, occasionally with dance bands. In 1940, Shearing joined Harry Parry's popular band and became a star in Britain, performing for the BBC, playing with Stéphane Grappelli's London-based groups of the early 1940s, and winning seven consecutive Melody Maker polls.
In 1946, Shearing established himself in the United States. In 1955, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Leading a quintet (piano with guitar, bass, drums and vibraphone), which over the years included Cal Tjader, Margie Hyams, Denzil Best, Israel Crosby, Joe Pass and Gary Burton, Shearing had a succession of hugely popular records including September In The Rain and his own composition, Lullaby Of Birdland (1952). His style, including the joint playing of the melody by piano and vibraphone, was also widely copied, becoming part of the idiom of pop music, so that his records from that period now sound far less innovative than they did at the time. 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 Torff, Jim Hall, Hank Jones and Kenny Davern.
In the 1970s, Shearing's profile had been lowered considerably, but upon signing with Concord Records in 1979, Shearing found himself enjoying a renaissance.
Over the years, Shearing has also collaborated with singers including Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Ernestine Anderson, Carmen McRae, and most notably, Mel Tormé, with whom he performed frequently in the late 80s and early 90s at festivals, on radio and for recordings.
Recently, 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.
Shearing's interest in classical music resulted in some performances with concert orchestras in the 1950s and 1960s, and his solo's frequently draw upon the music of Debussy and, particularly, Erik Satie for inspiration. Shearing also made a recording with the classical French horn player Barry Tuckwell.
Shearing wrote a number of jazz arrangements of hymn tunes for the organ in collaboration with organist Dale Wood, that have been published in sheet music form.
(2) 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 tended 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 '50s. 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 was 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, reflected 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 long admired his light, refined touch. He was also 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 '30s, 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 Stéphane Grappelli's London-based groups of the early '40s, and 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 (1950-1955) and Capitol (1955-1969), the latter for which he made albums with Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, and Nat King 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-then-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 Tormé, 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 came into play. He signed with Telarc in 1992 and from that point through the early 2000s continued to perform and record, most often appearing in a duo or trio setting. Shearing, who had remained largely inactive since 2004 after a fall in his New York City apartment, died of congestive heart failure at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital on February 14, 2011. He was 91. ~ Richard S. Ginell, Rovi
Dream Dancing
George Shearing Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The sunset's gold
And stars are bright above again
I smile, sweetheart
For then I know I can start
To live again, to love again
When day is done
Until the dawn
What do I do
I clasp your hand
And wander through slumber land
Dream-dancing with you
We dance between
A sky serene
And fields of green
Sparkling with dew
It's joy sublime
Whenever I spend my time
Dream-dancing with you
Dream-dancing
Oh, what a lucky windfall
Touching you, clutching you
All the night through
So say you love me, dear
And let me make my career
Dream-dancing
To paradise prancing
Dream-dancing with you
The lyrics of George Shearing's song Dream Dancing are about finding happiness and love again. The beginning of the song talks about the end of the day, the sunset, and the stars shining above giving the singer a sign of hope that he can start living again. The second verse talks about how the singer spends the night with his loved one, hand-in-hand, wandering through dreams and dancing with joy in the sky or fields of green. The chorus repeats the same idea that dreaming and dancing with the one he loves is what brings him joy and happiness.
The song Dream Dancing is telling a beautiful story of someone who has gone through a difficult time, but has now found hope and love again through the act of "dream dancing". The lyrics reflect the idea of finding happiness in the small things in life, and the joy that comes with sharing those moments with the one you love. The song's catchy tune and upbeat melody further emphasize the lyrics and the happiness that comes with dance and dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
When shades enfold
As the shades of night start to take over the daylight
The sunset's gold
The beauty of sunset that attracts everyone around the world
And stars are bright above again
Stars shining in the dark sky signify that everything around will go peacefully
I smile, sweetheart
The artist is happy and excited about something amazing
For then I know I can start
It is a sign to restart everything with new passion
To live again, to love again
Restarting life and love with fresh beginnings
When day is done
The daylight is over
And night comes on
The nighttime is arriving now
Until the dawn
The whole night went in dreams until the first light of the day
What do I do
The artist is looking for some activity to spend their time with
I clasp your hand
The singer held the hand of their beloved
And wander through slumber land
The artist is daydreaming about something that they love
Dream-dancing with you
Fantasizing about dancing with their love
We dance between
The couple is dancing between the sky and the fields
A sky serene
The calm and peaceful sky
And fields of green
The lush green fields with dew on them
Sparkling with dew
The dew drops shining on the field in the moonlight
It's joy sublime
The moment of pure and authentic happiness
Whenever I spend my time
Whenever the singer is with their beloved, this moment becomes memorable for a lifetime
Dream-dancing with you
The artist is enjoying dancing with their love in the dream world
Dream-dancing
Dancing in their dreams
Oh, what a lucky windfall
The artist feels like they have won the biggest jackpot in the world
Touching you, clutching you
The singer feels emotionally connected to their lover
All the night through
The artist is spending the whole night dreaming
So say you love me, dear
The singer is asking their beloved to confess their love for them
And let me make my career
Let me keep dreaming about you and make this my profession
Dream-dancing
Dancing in their dreams
To paradise prancing
The artist feels like they are dancing in heaven
Dream-dancing with you
The artist is living in their dreams, dancing with their love
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TimothyGondola
Learn how to improvise like George Shearing: https://tinyurl.com/yvkun6rb
Today’s sheet music (first to answer correctly gets the PDF) there are two, only answer one!
1) What fact about George Shearing makes his playing all the more impressive?*
2) What does that funny-looking fermata in measure 20 mean?*
@JoeLinux2000
He was blind.
@SempreGrazioso
The inverted fermata means that the performer should hold the note only slightly longer than expected.
@mitchellwooldridge5118
@@SempreGrazioso Can you provide a reference for that, please? I just spent the past 30 minutes looking this up and the only purpose I can find for an inverted fermata is a change in stem direction or for usage below the stave...
@TimothyGondola
@@FlappingTerrorr yep! message me @ gondolamusic.co/contact
@TimothyGondola
@@JoeLinux2000 that's right! message me @ gondolamusic.co/contact
@amotinyabongo5659
Taking me back to my college days when I first started playing piano... Listening to George, Oscar and Monty practicing in the Chapel with my tape recorder, got me through those dull days. Amen? Thank you for the post.
@DeathlyTired
Somewhere in the mists of time, I remember a radio program in the UK (probably BBC Radio 3) which had Shearing, André Previn and Marian McPartland each seated at their own piano and just chatting informally and playing ideas back and forth amongst themselves.
It was pretty much heaven hearing them all in so casual a setting, clearly enjoying each others inspiratrion and creativity, but it seems lost.
@UkuleleAversion
George Shearing is what got Herbie Hancock into jazz. Originally, Herbie was a classical piano prodigy but after hearing a peer from his school improvise jazz piano he asked how him he did all of that. His response was that he listened to George Shearing and copied some of what he was doing. So Herbie bought some Shearing records and the rest is history.
@Harmofinger
Quel grand musicien, magnifique, merci👍🙏😉