George Shearing

The highly respected jazz pianist and composer George Shearing was born just after WWI and was blind from birth. He began piano lessons at the age of three and trained at Linden Lodge, a local school for the blind. His talent soon began to show and as a young adult he was drafted into various ensembles led by leading musicians of the day - these included the Welsh bandleader Harry Parry and the acclaimed violinist Stéphane Grappelli. In 1947 Shearing emigrated to the USA and after forming the George Shearing Quintet his career blossomed. He recorded some of his major hits including 'September in the Rain', and what was to become his best-known single, 'Lullaby of Birdland' - a song which has gone on to become a jazz standard and has been recorded by numerous artists over the years. He died in 2011 at the age of 91 and left behind an expansive catalogue of recorded works of well over 100 albums. The music industry has honoured him with numerous awards and accolades including an Ivor Novello Award in 1993 for Lifetime Achievement, and a knighthood in 2007.

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