# George Shearing (1919-2011) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 14, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-shearing-1919-2011/571339 "2011-02-14T18:46:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-shearing-1919-2011/571339/1 "2011-02-14T18:46:50Z")
[George Shearing](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110214/ap_on_en_mu/us_obit_george_shearing) was the first jazz player I heard as a kid. He’s remained one of my favorite pianists all my life. Part of me has died along with him. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-shearing-1919-2011/571339/2 "2011-02-14T21:44:56Z")
Shucks – I loved listening to him. Thanks for letting us know. I’m going to put in _Back to Birdland._ ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-shearing-1919-2011/571339/3 "2011-02-14T22:54:30Z")
Bugger. Time to dig out [The Swingin’s Mutual](http://www.amazon.com/Swingins-Mutual-Nancy-Wilson/dp/B0001BKAU8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297723972&sr=8-1). ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-shearing-1919-2011/571339/4 "2011-02-14T23:10:04Z")
Oh, that’s so sad. What a beautiful person he was, and what a great sense of humour. There’s a fantastic medley ‘New York, New York’ that he did with Mel Torme which is brimming with musical jokes and outstanding playing. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-shearing-1919-2011/571339/5 "2011-02-15T00:45:10Z")
Sorry to see him go. I’m digitizing most of my jazz vinyl at the moment and finding lots of gold in there. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-shearing-1919-2011/571339/6 "2011-02-15T00:50:24Z")
Here he is [jamming with Stephan Grappelli](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXG_ldpaEDw) & some younger cats. Yet [another reason](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXG_ldpaEDw) to love him? He “contributed to the comeback of Stephan Grappelli.” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-shearing-1919-2011/571339/7 "2011-02-15T02:39:57Z")
Somewhere in her scrapbook of memorabilia, my wife keeps a small piece of light cardstock with the name “George Shearing” in Grade Two Braille. She swears that she got it from him. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-shearing-1919-2011/571339/8 "2011-02-15T10:59:30Z")
I am presently listening to _Beauty and the Beat_ featuring Peggy Lee and the George Shearing quintet. An memorable and classic album. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-shearing-1919-2011/571339/9 "2011-02-15T14:09:30Z")
As OP of this thread I’m proposing we use this space to post YouTube (or other) links to special Shearing things. One that’s just gone up is [Rare George Shearing Radio Interview from 1972](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpVECCN3_7A) I haven’t been able to locate the Shearing Quintet version of [Vic Damone Strange Enchantment](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLWjvyPWCJY) but the tune was my favorite one from the first Shearing album I bought in the mid-50’s: [LATIN ESCAPADE - George Shearing](http://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2010/06/latin-escapade-george-shearing.html) And here’s [George Shearing - Lullaby of Birdland](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNSxiLnJSVQ) which I used as a theme song for two jazz shows I did on the radio in the 60’s. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-shearing-1919-2011/571339/10 "2011-02-15T19:54:01Z")
This [George Shearing On Piano Jazz](http://www.npr.org/2009/11/20/120607605/george-shearing-on-piano-jazz) hour program has been linked to on several of the obit/tribute pages since his death, but I wanted to be sure anybody who may have missed the wit and humor of these two British-Americans, and their mastery of the piano, has another chance to hear the program. It’s one that was originally recorded in 1987. Both George and Marian were in much better control of their fingers then, and this show is a legacy to them both.