For those fortunate enough to hear and own the immaculately produced Germany/Black Forest based MPS recordings, distributed as imported pristine virgin vinyl LPs that were pressed in the '70s, you already know the quality of this four-CD set of George Shearing's trio. With the peerless Dane Niels-Henning Orsted Pederssen and Ireland's genius guitarist Louis Stewart, they can hardly do anything wrong musically. The first three CDs have Sharing playing standards, occasionally contemporizing his repertoire on Chick Corea's "Windows" and "500 Miles High," doing NHOP's "Cowboy Santa" and "My Little Anna," and offering two of his own originals, "The Fourth Deuce" and "G & G." The final CD has the threesome accompanied by strings, arranged and conducted by the brilliant Robert Farnon, and while a bit syrupy, lend pleasant late-night contrast at the end of a long day to the proceedings. This is a welcome addition to Shearing's collections discography, and a reminder of how good, in a short time period, MPS and producer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer were. - Michael G. Nastos
Tracks CD1
01. Tricotism (Oscar Pettiford)
02. Windows (Chick Corea)
03. No Moon At All (Redd Evans / David Mann)
04. Some Other Spring (Irene Kitchings / Arthur Herzog)
05. Wait Till You See Her (Richard Rodgers / Lorenz Hart)
06. Tune Up (Miles Davis)
07. The Party’s Over (Jule Styne / Betty Comden / Adolph Green)
08. The Lamp Is Low (Peter De Rose / Mitchell Parish / Bert A. Shefter)
09. Lazy Afternoon (Jerome Moross / John Latouche)
10. Cowboy Samba (NHOP)
11. Cheryl (Charlie Parker)
12. 500 Miles High (Chick Corea)
13. I Wished On The Moon (Ralph Raigner / Doropthy Parker)
14. Old Folks (Willard Robinson / Dedette Hill)
Tracks 1-10 Recorded June 1977, originally released on LP “Windows” (MPS 15 488) [P] 1978. Tracks 11-14 Recorded June 1977, originally released on LP “500 Miles High” (MPS 15 504) [P] 1979
Tracks CD2
01. Jordu (Duke Jordan)
02. P.S. I Love Youn(Gordon Jenkins / Johnny Mercer)
03. Everything Happens To Me (Matt Dennis / Thomas Adair)
04. Here’s That Rainy Day (Johnny Burke / Jimmy Van Heusen)
05. Invitation (Bronislaw Kaper / Paul Francis Webster)
06. In Your Own Sweet Way (Dave Brubeck)
07. Alice In Wonderland (Sammy Fain / Bob Hilliard)
08. All This And Heaven Too (Jimmy Van Heusen / Edgar De Lange)
09. No Greater Love (Isham Jones / Marty Symes)
10. Con Alma (Dizzy Gillespie)
Tracks 1-5 Recorded June 1977, originally released on LP “500 Miles High” (MPS 15 504) [P] 1979. Tracks 6-10 Recorded June 1, 1977 & September 18, 1979) originally intended for LP “Feeling Happy” (MPS 15 507, unreleased [P] 2007
Tracks CD3
01. The Fourth Deuce (George Shearing)
02. The Wine Of Way (Loonis McGlohon)
03. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (Duke Ellington / Bob Russell)
04. Consternation (George Shearing)
05. Sweet And Lovely (Gus Arnheim / Jules Lemare / Elliott Tobias)
06. My Little Ann (NHOP)
07. Sweet Lorraine (Clifford Burwell / Mitchell Parish)
08. Lois Ann (Buddy Montgomery)
09. G & G (George Shearing)
10. Poinciana (Nat Simon / Buddy Bernier)
11. This Can’t Be Love (Richard Rodgers / Lorenz Hart)
Tracks 1 & 2 Recorded June 1, 1977 & September 18, 1979
Tracks 3-11 Recorded September 19-21, 1979, originally releasedmon LP “Getting In The Swing Of Things” (MPS 15 537)
Tracks CD4
01. Fjärlins Vingor (Carl Michael Bellman )
02. Last Night When We Were Young (Harold Arlen / E. Y. Harburg)
03. Amaryllis (Harald Banter)
04. Strange Enchantment (Friedrich Holländer / Frank Loesser)
05. Look At The Face (Leslie Bricusse / Anthony Newley)
06. Portrait Of Jennie (J. Russel Robinson / Gordon Burdge)
07. Song Bird (loonis McGlohon)
08. This Is All I Ask (Gordon Jenkins)
09. A Nighttingale Sang In Berkeley Square (Manning Sherwin / Eric Maschwitz)
Trio recorded September 18-21, 1979 at MPS-Studio, Villingen, Germany
Orchestra recorded November 5 & 6, 1980 at Music Center Sound Studio, Wembley, England
Originally released on LP “On Target2 (MPS 15 551) 1981
GEORGE SHEARING piano
NIELS-HENNING ORSTED PEDERSEN bass
LOUIS STEWART guitar