George H. Smith Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I couldn't begin my vacation in earnest until I paid tribute to pianist George Shearing. He died on Feb. 14, at age 91. Here are some anecdotes about Shearing from the Yahoo list JazzWestCoast:His humor was British and subtle. Once, as he was being interviewed he was asked, "Have you been blind all of your life?" His answer, swift and true, "Not yet!" He claimed that one perk of being blind was that he got the right to select the attractive young ladies on his album covers by Braille.And the famous Shearing remark - when Shearing finished playing the MC gushed _ I just can't thank you enough. Shearing - Then send up somebody who can.Here is Shearing playing one of my favorite ballads, "The Shadow of Your Smile," by Johnny Mandel.<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xglZFKO_WnU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shearing didn't do a lot of singing, but I think he did a beautiful job with his rendition (1980) of Henry Mancini's ballad "Two For the Road." I uploaded this video to YouTube over a year ago.<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v3TlShc26UY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Ghs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Campbell Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 A great musician, as well as a fine wit.He'll be missed.Robert Campbell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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