The George Shearing Trio And Quintet 1947 - 1969 Special

In 1947, Shearing immigrated to the United States, where his harmonically complex style mixed swing, bop and modern classical influences. One of his first gigs in the States was at the Hickory House. He performed with the Oscar Pettiford Trio and led a quartet with Buddy DeFranco, which led to contractual problems since Shearing was with MGM and DeFranco was with Capitol Records. In 1949, he formed the first "George Shearing Quintet", a band with Margie Hyams (vibraphone), Chuck Wayne (guitar), later replaced by Toots Thielemans (billed as John Tillman), John Levy (bass) and Denzil Best (drums) and recorded for Discovery, Savoy and MGM, including the immensely popular single, "September in the Rain" (MGM), which sold over 900,000 copies; "my other hit" to accompany "Lullaby of Birdland". Shearing himself would write of this hit that it was "as accidental as it could be. In 1956, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.He continued to play with his quintet, with augmented players through the years, and recorded with Capitol until 1969.