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The Early George Shearing 1939 - 1949
ASV mono Living Era AJA 5335
Crotchet

September in the Rain

This compilation album was made from the original 78's by Peter Demsey

Audio restoration and remastering by Martin Haskell and Tim Debney.

1. Stomp in F
2. Squeezin' the Blues
3. The Shiek of Araby
4. Sweet Sue
5. Southern Fried
6. Dinah
7. Body and Soul
8. Delayed Action
9. Jump for Joy
10. Rosetta
11. Ghost of a Chance
12. TRUNK call
13. THE nearness of You
14. Poinciana
15. Cherokee
16. Sorry, Wrong Rhumba
17. Life with Feather
18. September
19. In the Rain
20. I Didn't Know what time it was
21. Summertime
22. East of the Sun
23. I'll Remember April
24. Little White Lies
25. Jumpin' with Symphony Sid

George Shearing is one of a very short list of world-renowned jazzmen that the UK has produced. Blind from birth, he studied Piano in London and even in the earliest of these recordings it is obvious that here is a musician of some class.

This album is an interesting piece of Jazz History, in the 10 years it covers George went from being unknown to being a world class artist. Already an accomplished player, he listened to the work of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and assimilatedBe-bop into his playing, His impeccable taste however made it possible for him to absorb the best and leave out some of the excesses of that era. Influenced by composer, author and critic Leonard Feather, he emigrated to the USA in 1947 and in 1948 replaced Errol Garner in the Oscar Pettiford Trio. In January 1949 the fully-fledged George Shearing Quintet made its debut and was an immediate hit worldwide.

The album follows George's development as both solo pianist and with many small groups in London. Kenny Baker, Harry Hayes Stephane Grapelli and Norman Burns all make brief appearances until we conclude with the Quintet.

I have always been a Shearing fan, he is a man of great style, with a superb technique with the ability to make every tune special.

I would have rated this album higher, but I know that the best was yet to come!

 

Don Mather

Don Mather is a Saxophone Player and Bandleader based in Coventry

Reviewer

Don Mather

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