1988 · Album
Dexterity
Recorded 1988, live at the second Fujitsu-Concord Jazz Festival · Concord Jazz · Produced by Unknown
Shearing's Fujitsu Session in Full Swing
A well-rounded and consistently enjoyable program from George Shearing and friends, recorded live at Fujitsu-Concord.
Dexterity opens the way a good live set should, with the band already warm and the room already listening. George Shearing's piano moves with the lean, bright touch he was known for, locking into a swinging groove with Neil Swainson's double bass providing the walking pulse underneath. The mood stays easy and conversational rather than showy. Shearing plays with a clean, economical attack, comping with restraint and taking solos that feel more like good talk than display.
The album was recorded live at the second Fujitsu-Concord Jazz Festival in 1988. The singer Ernestine Anderson appears on two tracks, adding a warm vocal contrast to the instrumental material. Shearing and Anderson would later make A Perfect Match together, and those vocal moments here give a preview of that partnership. Allmusic reviewer Scott Yanow called it "A well-rounded and consistently enjoyable program," and that is a fair description.
Where this record sits in Shearing's catalogue is clear: it is a mature, late-period document of a pianist who had long since settled into his identity. It is not a landmark or a reinvention. For listeners who already enjoy Shearing's relaxed style, it is a pleasant and dependable session. For newcomers, it is a reasonable entry point into his live work rather than the place to begin with his studio classics.
Who's playing
Neil Swainsondouble bass
George Shearingpiano
