I just came across this video clip of George Shearing answering fellow pianist Billy Taylor’s questions about how he developed the Shearing style. The clip has no date, but Taylor’s leisure suit says the 1970s. The interested onlooker is Marian McPartland.
Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...
Well, that clip was a lesson in precisely the stuff we were talking about last week – this “locked hands” technique. In both these clips George uses his left hand as a single voice an octave away from the top note in his right hand, filling in the chords with his right hand. His dexterity and precision are really amazing. And then there’s the discussion at 2:43 on this clip: how he conceptualizes chords with this technique. His description is a simplification, given Shearing’s sophisticated harmonic knowledge, but still . . . you’ll have to excuse me now, I need to go practice. Let’s see . . . C6, Adim, . . .