George Shearing Plays "September in the Rain"

By 1970, Shearing had felt he had gone as far as he could with the quintet sound, so he disbanded the group (just before he did this, I attended a concert by him with this group. They were still great) in 1978, favoring instead a trio or duo format, the former including a remarkable recording with his favorite artist from the early days Stephane Grapelli titled "The Reunion with George Shearing." Among Shearing's collaborations since the 1970s have been recordings with the Montgomery Brothers, Marian McPartland, Brian Q. Torff, Jim Hall, Hank Jones and Kenny Davern. In 1979, Shearing signed a long term contract with Concord Records and began recording mostly with Mel Torme, receiving a Grammy Award in 1983 and another one the following year. Their professional relationship ran throughout the 1980's and into the 1990's until Mel's sudden stroke in 1995 halted his performing in person.