[Dixielandjazz] George Shearing RIP

[Ken Mathieson]

Thanks, Allan

Ken
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Allan Brown" <allanbrown at dsl.pipex.com>
To: "Ken Mathieson" <ken at kenmath.free-online.co.uk>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Monday, February 14, 2011 11:01 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] George Shearing RIP


Great words Ken.

Best,

Allan


On 14 Feb 2011, at 22:53, Ken Mathieson wrote:

> Hi Folks,
>
> During the 1970s and 80s, I worked a lot with a fine pianist from London 
> called Eddie Thompson, who had been blind from birth like Shearing and had 
> attended the same school for the blind in London, where they were both 
> trained as piano tuners in order to give them a secure profession from 
> which they could earn a living. Shearing was 6 or so years older than 
> Eddie but they were good friends around the London jazz scene before 
> Shearing emigrated to USA. Years later they renewed their friendship in 
> New York when Eddie emigrated there (he was intermission pianist at The 
> Hivckory House for long periods during his 10 year stay in NYC).
>
> Many years after his return to UK, Eddie went to see (he always used that 
> verb, never "hear") Shearing at the Festival Hall in London and went round 
> backstage to his dressing room. When he came in the door, he could hear 
> that Shearing was in the middle of telling a gag and that he was sitting 
> with his back to the door. So Eddie waited till the after the punchline, 
> came up behind, put both hands over George's ears and said "Guess who!"
>
> Trumpeter Tommy McQuater would talk of coming out of a club in wartime 
> when there was a total blackout in London because of bombing, and George, 
> the blind man, would lead the sighted musicians through the pitch-black, 
> rubble-strewn streets and set them on their respective routes home 
> (usually a case of the blind leading the blind-drunk!).
>
> One of the 299 compositions that "nobody knows about" is a great bop theme 
> called Consternation. However, it really found its true home when Machito 
> recorded it as a mambo called Consternacion: it makes a fabulously jazzy 
> mambo; well worth checking out if you like Afro-Cuban big band jazz. Also, 
> his album Beauty and the Beat with Peggy Lee is still a masterpiece.
>
> Another great nams gone. RIP George.
>
> Ken Mathieson
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