A legend closed the lid on his Steinway today. One of the first pieces of jazz I was exposed to was Shearing's "Lullaby of Birdland". A sad loss to the jazz world.

Here's a link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12458355

This is indeed a very sad day , especially for jazz fans.
Perhaps the most famous musical contribution George Shearing made was his legendary piano block chord "Shearing" style. I was fortunate to see him live in concert along with Mel Torme quite a few years ago. Amazing duo. Shearing will be greatly missed, but his music will live on for many generations to come. May he rest in peace.

Though its certainly a lot more desirable to actually fully play the block chords, most arrangers include a harmony chord feature to emulate this by simply playing a melody with one finger.

You're invited to watch the two video tutorials below.

Tutorial #1:



Tutorial #2: George Shearing Block Chord Style: Click HERE

Sad news indeed.
May he rest in peace.

Another "giant" passes. The world is a much better place with his groundbreaking, delightful contributions.


Russ

A great loss to us all.

Everytime a "Legend" of this magnitude passes you feel a "Little" bit older!

One of my dad's heros and conseqently one of mine. A very tasteful Brit and the consumate music man
He once told my dad on a rainy evening. You see this thing called rain as a nuisance, I see it as an incredible thing of beauty. May he rest in peace.

Joe

A truely excellent musician. I read that he and Dave Brobeck were close friends ... imagine that duo 'jamming' together ...
The 'technichord' button on my kn6000 provides a variety of harmonies, including 'block chords' ... with 'Vibes and Guitar as a second RH voice, the sound is very reminiscent of Shearings ...
May he be jamming with all the other leGends that have passed ...

Sorry to see another super stalwart go. His classic sound will certainly live forever. Sad day for all musicians.

Randy