George Shearing - Later Career

Later Career

In 1970, he began to "phase out his by-now-predictable quintet" and disbanded the group in 1978. One of his more notable albums during this period was The Reunion, with George Shearing (Verve 1976), made in collaboration with bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer Rusty Jones, and featuring Stéphane Grappelli, the musician with whom he had debuted as a sideman decades before. Later, Shearing played with a trio, as a soloist and increasingly in a duo. Among his collaborations were sets with the Montgomery Brothers, Marian McPartland, Brian Q. Torff, Jim Hall, Hank Jones and Kenny Davern. In 1979, Shearing signed with Concord Records, and recorded for the label with Mel Tormé. This collaboration garnered Shearing and Tormé two Grammys, one in 1983 and another in 1984. Shearing remained fit and active well into his later years and continued to perform, even after being honoured with an Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. He never forgot his native country and, in his last years, would split his year between living in New York and Chipping Campden, Oxfordshire, UK, where he'd bought a house with his second wife, singer Ellie Geffert. This gave him the opportunity to tour the UK, giving concerts, often with his long-time friend and collaborator, Mel Tormé, backed by the BBC Big Band. He was appointed OBE in 1996. In 2007, he was knighted. "So," he noted later, "the poor, blind kid from Battersea became Sir George Shearing. Now that's a fairy tale come true."

In 2004, he released his memoirs, 'Lullaby of Birdland', which was accompanied by a double album "musical autobiography", 'Lullabies of Birdland'. Shortly afterwards, however, he suffered a fall at his home and retired from regular performing.