Lullaby of Birdland: A Tribute - His 52 Finest: 1939-1960

As a tribute to the late George Shearing (1919-2011), who died in February, Retrospective offers this unique survey of his first two recording decades. Pianist, bandleader and composer George Shearing was the first British jazzman to hit the big-time in the States, and remains one of the most internationally celebrated musicians this country has ever produced. Blind from birth, he was voted the top British pianist for seven years, 1939-1946, before he emigrated to New York, created the unmistakeable "Shearing sound", and enjoyed stardom ever since. Disc One surveys his musical journey from Battersea to Birdland. 16 London tracks include seven fine solos (Delayed Action .), three examples of his work with such as Stéphane Grappelli (Dinah .) and six fronting his Trio or Sextet with Kenny Baker (Trunk Call .). In America success came quickly when he formed his famous Quintet with vibes, guitar, bass and drums, and the CD takes us up to his 1949 million-selling September In The Rain. The second disc charts a decade of the George Shearing Quintet's gradual progression from simply being one of the most popular jazz combos on the planet, to reaching out to a wider audience with the ultimate in sophisticated easy listening. It opens with a dozen superb examples of the Quintet in its heyday (East Of The Sun, I ll Remember April .), then reminders of the many top-selling albums from the mid to late 50s sometimes with full orchestra (e.g. The Folks Who Live On The Hill, with Billy May), sometimes with Latin percussion (Serenata .), and sometimes just his solo piano working miracles (Stella By Starlight .). George was also an accompanist par excellence, as can be heard here in the company of Billy Eckstine, Peggy Lee and Nancy Wilson. And two of the album tracks feature Shearing as jazz accordionist! Squeezin' The Blues from 1939 and an amazing Cherokee from ten years later.

Number of Discs: 2

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