CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

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Feel the Spirit

from: Collegium

Release Date September 17, 2001
For me, the recording qualitys pretty good and theres a clear open soundstage.

I agree that the George Shearing written Shakespeare melodies are the highlight.

They should have done another take of The Heavenly Aeroplane. The timing between choir/orchestra all goes to pot and becomes cringworthingly bad in my opinion.

The arrangement of the Lord of the Dance is enjoyable though

overall its an enjoyable CD.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

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An Evening at...

by: Mel Torme and George Shearing

Release Date July 01, 1988
If I was granted one chance to travel back in time, I'd be sitting in the audience at a Tormé/Shearing gig. I think the collection of Mel & George recordings on Concord should have a mention in any history of 20th century music. Two artists, and they really are artists, at the top of their game with boundless enthusiasm for 'The American Songbook'. One of the things I've always loved about these guys is that they seem unable to play one song at a time - one or two more usually sneak in and spotting the lines stolen from other songs is great fun. Of the half-dozen albums they made together, this is one of the more informal, and the recording quality is excellent. Every number is top-notch, but the opening mix of 'Just One of Those Things' ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

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The Ultimate George Shearing

by: George Shearing

Release Date November 05, 2001
If I was granted one chance to travel back in time, I'd be sitting in the audience at a Tormé/Shearing gig. I think the collection of Mel & George recordings on Concord should have a mention in any history of 20th century music. Two artists, and they really are artists, at the top of their game with boundless enthusiasm for 'The American Songbook'. One of the things I've always loved about these guys is that they seem unable to play one song at a time - one or two more usually sneak in and spotting the lines stolen from other songs is great fun. Of the half-dozen albums they made together, this is one of the more informal, and the recording quality is excellent. Every number is top-notch, but the opening mix of 'Just One of Those Things' ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

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A Vintage Year

by: Mel Torme and George Shearing

Release Date July 01, 1988
When Mel Torme and George Shearing, friends who recorded together often, performed at the Paul Masson Mountain Winery in 1987, each was at his peak. Torme was then sixty-two years old, but his voice had never been better--he never smoked (unusual in this industry), and his voice was mellow and mature, even better at sixty-two than it was at thirty-two. Shearing, at age sixty-eight, having signed with Concord Records in 1979, was enjoying a renaissance as a jazz pianist, making stunning recordings with Carmen McRae, Peggy Lee, and Mel Torme, among others.

In this vibrant live performance, both Torme and Shearing are relaxed, more interested in communicating with the audience and each other than in special effects and pyrotechnics. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

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The Shearing Piano

by: George Shearing

Release Date June 04, 2001
This gem is a lucid, intelligent and romantic twenty-track take on American standards which far surpasses expectations.

I got the album on the cheap, and the fact that no-one else on Amazon had reviewed it coupled with its absence in most jazz encyclopedias (supposedly not in the top tier of Shearing releases) made me think I'd acquired a cruise-ship easy listening CD full of filler... However, although some of the moods do lean towards cocktail music, this release is a studied and beautiful interpretation of the American songbook. I would liken this to third stream rather than easy listening - note Shearing's quotations of Rachmaninov and Satie - and would wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of Bill Evans and of romantic classical ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

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I Hear a Rhapsody: Live at the Blue Note

by: George Shearing

Release Date September 24, 2007
This gem is a lucid, intelligent and romantic twenty-track take on American standards which far surpasses expectations.

I got the album on the cheap, and the fact that no-one else on Amazon had reviewed it coupled with its absence in most jazz encyclopedias (supposedly not in the top tier of Shearing releases) made me think I'd acquired a cruise-ship easy listening CD full of filler... However, although some of the moods do lean towards cocktail music, this release is a studied and beautiful interpretation of the American songbook. I would liken this to third stream rather than easy listening - note Shearing's quotations of Rachmaninov and Satie - and would wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of Bill Evans and of romantic classical ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

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Jazz Club - Swinging in a Latin Mood

by: George Shearing

Release Date September 25, 2006
This gem is a lucid, intelligent and romantic twenty-track take on American standards which far surpasses expectations.

I got the album on the cheap, and the fact that no-one else on Amazon had reviewed it coupled with its absence in most jazz encyclopedias (supposedly not in the top tier of Shearing releases) made me think I'd acquired a cruise-ship easy listening CD full of filler... However, although some of the moods do lean towards cocktail music, this release is a studied and beautiful interpretation of the American songbook. I would liken this to third stream rather than easy listening - note Shearing's quotations of Rachmaninov and Satie - and would wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of Bill Evans and of romantic classical ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

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The Swingin's Mutual

by: Nancy Wilson & The George Shearing Quintet

Release Date March 08, 2004
If swing is your thing and you like hearing Shearing you'll love this. I have around ten albums of his and this is the best. Mostly instrumental but some featuring Nancy Wilson, this Capitol release from the early 60s is near perfect. With upbeat ditties like "Don't call me" and "Blue Lou" you'll be doing well to keep still in your seat. Numbers like "The Things we did Last Summer" and "All Night Long" showcase the wicked combination of Wilson's voice and Shearing's delightfully timed, dancing notes with corresponding Vibes from Warren Chaisson. Surely the highlight, though, is their unforgettable version of Carmichael's "The Nearness of You" - a deliciously simple and beautifully slow ballad to savour. This is special stuff - invest and enjoy.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

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The Early Years

by: George Shearing

Release Date September 29, 2008
If swing is your thing and you like hearing Shearing you'll love this. I have around ten albums of his and this is the best. Mostly instrumental but some featuring Nancy Wilson, this Capitol release from the early 60s is near perfect. With upbeat ditties like "Don't call me" and "Blue Lou" you'll be doing well to keep still in your seat. Numbers like "The Things we did Last Summer" and "All Night Long" showcase the wicked combination of Wilson's voice and Shearing's delightfully timed, dancing notes with corresponding Vibes from Warren Chaisson. Surely the highlight, though, is their unforgettable version of Carmichael's "The Nearness of You" - a deliciously simple and beautifully slow ballad to savour. This is special stuff - invest and enjoy.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

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The MPS Trio Sessions

by: George Shearing Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen Louis Stewart, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Louis Stewart

Release Date November 12, 2007
If swing is your thing and you like hearing Shearing you'll love this. I have around ten albums of his and this is the best. Mostly instrumental but some featuring Nancy Wilson, this Capitol release from the early 60s is near perfect. With upbeat ditties like "Don't call me" and "Blue Lou" you'll be doing well to keep still in your seat. Numbers like "The Things we did Last Summer" and "All Night Long" showcase the wicked combination of Wilson's voice and Shearing's delightfully timed, dancing notes with corresponding Vibes from Warren Chaisson. Surely the highlight, though, is their unforgettable version of Carmichael's "The Nearness of You" - a deliciously simple and beautifully slow ballad to savour. This is special stuff - invest and enjoy.