Lullaby of Birdland: The Autobiography of George Shearing

Lullaby of Birdland; The Autobiography of George Shearing

Hardcover. Zustand: Very good. Zustand des Schutzumschlags: Very good. Jimmy Katz (cover photograph) (illustrator). Presumed First Edition, First printing. x, [2], 259, [1] pages. Includes Acknowledgments, listing of 25 black and white illustrations, fourteen chapters, Recommended Recordings, and an Index. Front DJ flap creased. Sir George Albert Shearing, OBE (13 August 1919 - 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. The composer of over 300 titles, including the jazz standards "Lullaby of Birdland" and "Conception", and had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s. In 1947, Shearing emigrated to the United States, where his harmonically complex style mixing swing, bop and modern classical influences gained popularity. In 1956, Shearing became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He continued to play with his quintet, with augmented players through the years, and recorded with Capitol until 1969. He created his own label, Sheba, that lasted a few years. Along with dozens of musical stars of his day, Shearing appeared on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom. Earlier, he had appeared on the same network's reality show, The Comeback Story, in which he discussed how to cope with blindness. Shearing remained fit and active well into his later years and continued to perform, even after being honored with an Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. In 2007, he was knighted. "So", he noted later, "the poor, blind kid from Battersea became Sir George Shearing. Now that's a fairy tale come true." Pianist George Shearing is that rare thing, a European jazz musician who became a household name in the US, as a result of the "Shearing sound"-the recordings of his historic late 1940s quintet. Together with his unique "locked hands" approach to playing the piano, Shearing's quintet with guitar and vibraphone in close harmony to his own playing revolutionized small group jazz, and ensured that after seven years as Melody Maker's top British pianist, he achieved even greater success in America. His compositions have been recorded by everyone from Sarah Vaughan to Miles Davis, and his best known pieces include "Lullaby of Birdland", "She" and "Conception". His story is all the more remarkable because Shearing was born blind. His candid reminiscences include a behind the scenes experience of New York's 52nd Street in its heyday, as well as memories of a vast roll-call of professional colleagues that includes all the great names in jazz. As a teenager he joined Claude Bampton's band, and he recounts hilarious anecdotes about the trials and tribulations of this all blind group. By the start of the war years, Shearing was established as one of Britain's most popular and impressive jazz pianists--broadcasting regularly and playing and recording with Stephane Grappelli. He also recorded with Ambrose and his own bands, including such British stars as trumpeter Kenny Baker. After emigrating to the United States in 1947, George Shearing started his landmark series of records with his quintet. He also played classical pieces and performed with several leading symphony orchestras. Artikel-Nr. 81271

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