George Shearing - The Early Years

Born blind in Battersea, London in 1919, George Shearing became one of the most popular and successful jazz pianists in America from the 1950s onwards. But before he moved to the USA in 1947 he'd had a decade of recording and performing successfully in the UK, for much of the period in the midst of wartime London.By the age of 16 George was earning a living wage as a pub pianist, and aged 17 was recruited into a touring band. He was instantly identified as a talent to watch. The earliest recordings here, made when George was 20, show him as an accomplished pianist whose instinct for jazz was already well-developed.As well as plotting George's progress through the war and into the early years of peace, we encounter his many recorded collaborations with Stephane Grappelli (who himself seems to flourish out of Django's shade) and a rich panoply of long-forgotten British jazz musicians who can now be seen as much more than mere imitators of American originals. Included are postwar sessions led by reedman Harry Hayes. So forward-looking is the material, it is hard to believe that they were recorded in the time and place that they were. For those who know only George Shearing's American recordings, this 5CD collection will be a revelation - showing a master musician in evolution.