Shear Brass
Extraordinary Journey
by Howard Lawes
Sir George Shearing OBE (1919 – 2011), despite humble beginnings and being born without sight became one of the most successful British jazz musicians of all time. Following on from their first album, Celebrating Sir George Shearing (2023), the band Shear Brass, comes together for a second time to honour his memory and celebrate his music with their album Extraordinary Journey. The founder of Shear Brass, Carl Gorham provided some thoughts about his great uncle for this article. Sir George Shearing’s early life in Battersea, London is commemorated by a specialist disability youth centre operated by Wandsworth Borough Council. Carl notes “George was such a positive individual in terms of the way that he handled his blindness and refused to let it limit his experience. The Centre truly reflects the belief that just because someone faces challenges, it shouldn’t automatically shrink their world and deprive them of opportunity”.
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In conversation with his biographer, Alyn Shipton (Lullaby of Birdland – The Autobiography of George Shearing, by George Shearing with Alyn Shipton, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005) - George Shearing says “The greatest boon to, as far as learning to be blind and to live with blindness, was the 4 years I spent at Linden Lodge residential school between the ages of 12 and 16”. The Linden Lodge School continues to educate visually impaired children to this day, although on a different site. The original building was a large house with a garden close to Wandsworth Common and it was here that George Shearing learned to type using braille, learned music theory and developed his remarkable natural talent for the piano. George’s piano teacher, George Newell, taught classical music, but when George turned 16, Newell informed Shearing’s parents that their son much preferred jazz to classical music. Nevertheless, George Shearing continued to play classical music as well as jazz throughout his career and it was Newell that arranged for George to have an audition with the BBC that resulted in a regular slot on the radio. George could have continued to study music at college but decided to start out on his professional career, playing at The Mason’s Arms (later renamed The Lambeth Walk) in Lambeth for £1.25 / week.
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Here is an introduction to Shear Brass with George Shearing's most well-known composition Lullaby Of Birdland.
George could also play the accordion (as pictured on the Extraordinary Journey CD cover) which brought him further work in dance bands. In 1937 the National Institute for the Blind sponsored Claude Bampton’s All Blind Orchestra and George joined as a pianist, touring dance venues and as reported in a Skegness local newspaper, the Butlin’s Holiday Camp. George was interviewed for the radio programme Desert Island Discs in 1962, and recalls the occasion when one of the blind musicians lost a glass eye just as the orchestra is about to go on stage. He describes how it took 15 blind musicians crawling around on their hands and knees to find the eye so that the concert could proceed. Carl Gorham relates “Absolutely, he had a great sense of humour. I remember being struck by his introductions on stage when we used to go and see his shows and just how naturally funny he was. I went with my Mum to a concert he did at the Barbican in the '80s which was delayed for some technical reason. Eventually he was led on stage, sat down at the piano and just said ‘I’m sorry I’m late, it was my turn to drive’. “
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The All-Blind Orchestra, whose signature tune was I’ll See You in My Dreams, lasted only a year or so before the sponsorship ran out but George Shearing’s career in music continued unabated. During WW2 dance bands continued to play in dance halls, for the troops and on the radio and fulfilled the vital role of raising morale. In an article in Crescendo magazine, Stephanne Grappelli talks about his time in wartime London, playing in Arthur Young’s Hatchette Swingtette with George Shearing on piano. The trumpeter Tommy McQuater remembered playing and drinking with George in London clubs and then coming out into the total blackout. George would lead the sighted musicians through the pitch-black, rubble-strewn streets and set them on their respective routes home. "A case of the blind leading the blind-drunk", as McQuater had it. George also played in the Ambrose Octet and at the end of the war, with his ability to write music using Braille, prepared arrangements for the Ted Heath Band. A remarkable testament to his musicianship was to win the Melody Maker Most Popular British Jazz Pianist poll for seven consecutive years from approximately 1941 to 1947.
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Here is a very early video of the George Shearing Quintet from 1949 playing I'll Remember April - George Shearing (piano); Chuck Wayne (guitar); Marjorie Hyams (vibraphone); John Levy ( bass) and Denzil Best (drums):
Another Londoner, Leonard Feather, had first met George Shearing in 1938 when George provided the live music after a programme of contemporary American jazz on record at Feather’s No. 1 Rhythm Club. Feather recognised that George’s playing was much influenced by American musicians, in particular Art Tatum, but also Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson and others. Leonard was also much impressed by George’s ability to play jazz on accordion and set up a recording session where George played a tune called Squeezin’ the Blues with Feather on piano and Carlo Krahmer on drums. Leonard had earlier moved to America where he established himself as a very successful jazz journalist and author. His book, Inside Bebop (1949), heavily criticised by the traditional jazz fraternity, helped to establish the new form of jazz as well as the careers of Sarah Vaughan, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie. Leonard Feather suggested that George Shearing’s career lay in America and after a toe in the water visit in 1946, George moved to America permanently in 1947.
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George discovered that New York clubs and American record companies wanted more than re-imagined versions of the tunes of Art Tatum and other established musicians, and at the end of the 1940s he embraced the bebop trend and also had his first hit record with his new quintet, September in the Rain, released on the MGM label. The George Shearing Quintet debuted at New York’s Café Society in April 1949; by May 1950 the band was earning $2000 a week, and George Shearing had adopted USA nationality. Alongside Shearing on piano were Marjorie Hyams on vibraphone, Chuck Wayne on guitar, John Levy on bass and Denzil West on drums. George had been playing in a quartet that included clarinetist Buddy DeFranco, but when DeFranco left to fulfill another contract Leonard Feather suggested replacing the clarinet with vibraphone and guitar.
George had developed a “locked hands” piano style whereby both left and right hand move simultaneously in the same direction creating a harmonious, chordal melody. The rich, mellow sound was further enhanced by having piano, vibraphone and guitar playing arrangements as if written for big bands. As Marc Myers comments about another George Shearing hit, I’ll Be Around (1951) “The song in the hands of the George Shearing Quintet is sheer perfection - the pacing, the pulse-like tempo and the quintet's gorgeous voicings all showcase what's special about this song”.
The rest as they say is history. George Shearing contined performing live until 2004 when a fall at home forced him to retire having just completed his autobiography. He had released a stupendous number of recordings and garnered many awards, he had appeared before the royal family and American presidents and received an OBE for services to music and Anglo-American relations, finally being knighted in 2007.
Shear Brass was formed to commemorate a truly great British jazz musician and has Jason McDermid (trumpet), Pete Long (reeds), Alastair White (trombone; Martin Gladdish plays on one track); James Pearson (piano); Anthony Kerr (vibes and percussion); Alec Dankworth (bass); Carl Gorham (drums), Satin Singh (percussion tracks 6 and 12), Sarah Moule (vocals tracks 6, 9, and 11) and Romy Sipek (vocals (tracks 2 and 7). The line-up does not try to imitate the George Shearing Quintet; Carl Gorham says “I personally feel that no one could do that ‘Shearing Sound’ better than the man himself, so I’ve never really been tempted to try. I like the idea of taking some of the elements of that group – the rhythmic tightness, the wonderful melodic sense, the swing, the brevity of the individual numbers with their dynamic short solos - and combining those with our own punchy brass arrangements”.
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Carl also notes “Our intention with the new album was to describe George’s extraordinary musical journey (hence the album title), from early popular song and dance band days, through swing, be-bop, cool jazz through Latin to the popular vocal collaborations of the sixties. Inevitably, with so much ground to cover we had to make very hard decisions about what to leave out. Some of the classical elements that came into his playing and composition later, we just didn’t have the space for on this one. At the same time, I’m a passionate believer that good music is good music and should be treated with respect whatever the genre so I definitely support that idea that jazz should be regarded on the same level as any other form, including classical. Whilst we didn’t make a conscious effort to embed any kind of message in the album, we just focussed on the overall quality in every way we could – the performances, the arrangements, the sound - and just tried to ensure it was as good as we could make it. Nothing is ever perfect but that’s the thing you’re constantly striving for”.
The tracks on the album are not in the chronological order that George Shearing originally recorded them in and two of the tracks are new compositions by James Pearson that admirably demonstrate George Shearing's iconic technique. Bop, Look and Listen, from an EP of the same name released in 1957, was recorded in 1949. George Shearing was a great admirer of the bebop pioneers, Charlie Parker (Bird) and Dizzie Gillespie, regularly played at the Birdland club in New York and of course composed Lullaby of Birdland as a tribute to the club and Charlie Parker. I’ll See you in My Dreams, is the poignant theme tune of Claude Bampton’s All Blind Orchestra in which George Shearing played piano during 1937 – 1938. The orchestra was sponsored by the National Institute for the Blind for a limited period. Playing with the band highlighted George Shearing’s virtuosity and opened doors for future engagements. The singer on the track is George Shearing’s great grand niece, Romy Sipek. There is a lovely trombone solo from Alistair White.
Caravan, the Duke Ellington classic was perfomed by George at Birdland in 1952 where it was introduced by George Shearing’s friend, Leonard Feather. George Shearing’s 1955 recording is on accordion, a rare instrument in jazz, and one which Feather didn’t believe could be used for jazz until he heard Shearing play it. There is a great clarinet solo from Pete Long on this track. I’ll Be Around, released in 1951 epitomised the special sound of the George Shearing Quintet that Marc Myers particularly admires. By George, a new composition by James Pearson, is a homage to the great man and very well demonstrates George Shearing’s locked hands technique and other melodic devices. Black Satin, is a beautiful melody and title track from the album released in 1956. Sarah Moule’s vocal is lovely and Anthony Kerr plays both vibes and percussion giving the tune a latin flavour that Shearing adopted with great success in the late 1950s.
Do I Love You, was originally released in 1959 with Peggy Lee singing the Cole Porter composition. The late 1950s and early 1960s saw George Shearing playing with several great vocalists including Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson. Romy Sipek does a great job on this track. September in the Rain (1950) was George Shearing’s first big hit with the record buying public and established his career in America. It is from a 1937 film of the same name and has been recorded very many times but Shearing’s version, with some nimble piano solo clearly had something special and James Pearson’s piano certainly does it justice. The Way You Look Tonight, a Jerome Kern / Dorothy Fields song from the 1936 film Swing Time, sung originally by Fred Astaire in an Oscar winning performance, was recorded much later in George Shearing's career when he formed a very successful partnership with the “velvety toned singer” Mel Tormé. Sarah Moule sings the song on the album. Shear Delight, is another new composition from James Pearson, with a nod to George Shearing’s love of using puns in his titles. The title is spot on and Pearson’s playing is gorgeous.
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Just a Mood, released in 1992 on the album I Hear a Rhapsody – Live at the Blue Note was written in 1937 by Teddy Wilson, one of George Shearing’s early influences, that he was able to imitate simply from listening to a record. There was no vocal on Shearing’s reflective version but Sarah Moule sings a ballad in a lovely tribute. Mambo No. 2 is from the 1957 album Latin Escapade. This wonderful afro-cuban style composition by George Shearing really highlights his incredible ability and versatility. Satin Singh is brought into the Shear Brass line-up on percussion, and the band creates an excellent version of this great dance tune.
Carl Gorham summarises his feelings and the special significance that his great uncle’s music has for him: “I was brought up with that music. I can remember his Greatest Hits LP sitting by the stereo at home with that iconic photo of George in dark glasses and a sharp suit on the cover. I could sing ‘Lullaby of Birdland’ when I was at Primary School. One of the wonderful things about the project has been having my daughter, and George’s great, great niece, Romy Sipek, singing on both the albums we’ve recorded alongside Sarah Moule, thereby keeping the family connection going."
This second album or instalment in the celebration of the music of Sir George Shearing carries on in the same vein as the first 2023 album, Celebrating Sir George Shearing. There is no denying that this giant of jazz, classical and popular music should be celebrated, and all the more so given his disability. Sir George Shearing is an inspiration for all of us and epitomises those human qualities of skill, creativity, industry, resilience and humour that are so important in life.
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Shear Brass - Extraordinary Journey was released on 26th September 2025 and is available here.
© Sandy Brown Jazz 2025.10