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
Lullaby
George Shearing Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Always hear when you sigh
Never in my wordland
Could there be ways to reveal
In a phrase how I feel
Have you ever heard two turtle doves
Bill and coo when they love?
Music we make with our lips when we kiss
And there's a weepy old willow
He really knows how to cry
That's how I'd cry in my pillow
If you should tell me farewell and goodbye
Lullaby of Birdland whisper low
Kiss me sweet and we'll go
Flyin' high in Birdland
High in the sky up above
All because we're in love
In George Shearing's famous song "Lullaby of Birdland," the lyrics convey the feelings of devotion and love in a relationship. The title "Lullaby of Birdland" refers to a famous jazz club in New York City that was named after Charlie "Bird" Parker, who was a famous jazz saxophonist. The song starts off by stating that the singer always hears the melody of the club when the loved one sighs. The persona expresses that there is nothing in the world that could describe how they feel, so they use music to express it with their partner.
The second part of the verse is about the magic relationship between two lovers. The persona compares the music they make when they kiss to the cooing of two turtle doves when they love. The final verse of the song is about possible separation from their loved one. The weeping old willow represents the sadness the persona will feel if their partner leaves, and they have to say farewell and goodbye. But they then ask for a "Lullaby of Birdland" to whisper low, kiss them sweetly, and take flight to the heavens because they are in love with their partner.
Line by Line Meaning
Lullaby of Birdland, that's what I
The melody of Birdland is what I associate with love
Always hear when you sigh
Every time you sigh, I hear the tune of Birdland playing
Never in my wordland
I cannot express my feelings with words
Could there be ways to reveal
There is no way to articulate the love I feel
In a phrase how I feel
Even if I tried to describe my feelings in a sentence, I couldn't capture it completely
Have you ever heard two turtle doves
Do you know how it sounds when two doves express their love?
Bill and coo when they love?
They create a musical sound with their bill and cooing
That's the kind of magic
That same musical magic is what we create when we kiss
Music we make with our lips when we kiss
Our kisses create a beautiful melody
And there's a weepy old willow
There's a sad old willow tree
He really knows how to cry
It seems as though the tree is crying
That's how I'd cry in my pillow
I would cry just like the willow if you were to leave me
If you should tell me farewell and goodbye
If you were to say goodbye forever
Lullaby of Birdland whisper low
The melody of Birdland is softly playing in the background
Kiss me sweet and we'll go
If we kiss one more time, we'll leave
Flyin' high in Birdland
We'll be soaring in love and happiness in Birdland
High in the sky up above
We'll be very high up in the sky
All because we're in love
All of this happiness and magic is possible because we are in love
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tratore
Written by: George Shearing, George David Weiss
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@farciao
My 89 year old dad and I heard this song as background music at the restaurant we went to last night. He then told me the story of how he saw George Shearing play at a Manhattan club called Birdland. It was the mid Fifties and my dad was attending Fordham University for his masters degree. What a great time to be young, in NYC (from Ohio) and hearing such a wonderful talent! He went on the mention how he saw Dave Brubeck play with Paul Desmond at Red Hill Inn in Camden, New Jersey in January of 1955. Has a Polaroid with DB’s autograph on it, too! He had me look up some other musicians on my smart phone and he enjoyed sampling and reminiscing. I just love my dad. What he now lacks in short term memory, he more than makes up for in cherished long term memories. Sharp as a tack in that department!
@sofiablakey6454
George Shearing was a genius pianist & was way ahead of his time. He developed his own sound with the xylophone back in the 50’s & 60’s, transforming Latin & jazz sounds. He could transpose classical music to jazz. An amazing musical talent for all time!♥️♥️♥️
@georgemarsh6303
Vibraphone, not xylophone.
@amotinyabongo5659
George Shearing was one of my MAJOR influences when I started playing in college...the other two were Monty Alexander and Oscar Peterson. It's good to go back and listen because I'm hearing so much I didn't hear...many moons ago. Thank you for the post.
@brianruskin9241
This for me is what elegant jazz is all about. Such a great pleasure to listen to and enjoy.
@AllIn1Studio
Huge influence for me too. Oscar was of course the ultimate but because I can’t walk in 10ths or even stretch one in the bass I chose Dudley Moore and Ramsey Lewis as easy to follow together with Shearing who wrote in clusters for my smaller hands!!!
@amotinyabongo5659
@@AllIn1Studio Wow! Dudley Moore, now there's a name I haven't heard in decades. Yes, he had skills and thanks to his role in the movie 10, we got to hear him. Thank you for share.
@autumnleaves2766
George Shearing (1919-2011) was Britain's greatest ever jazz musician, but he had to go the home of jazz, the USA, to realise his full potential. So few British people know about him sadly. I love playing "Lullaby of Birdland" on the piano, just great fun to improvise on. George was blind from birth but never let it hold him back, what a star !
@t.p.mckenna
Both my dad and I were great fans of George Shearing's. In fact, he passed away just a day after Dad. I kinda like to imagine that they might have gone upstairs in the same elevator.
@s.j7423
:)<3