SHEARING AT VINE ST.

George Shearing has been doing for so long what he still does for a living that those of us who have been monitoring him for most of that time now know pretty well what to look for during one of his visits.

What is expected, and invariably delivered, is a canny admixture of superlative musicianship, several kernels of quasi-classical corn and intermittent portions of light verbal entertainment.

Typically, Wednesday at the Vine St. Bar & Grill, where he opened with his bassist and duo-pianist Don Thompson, he dedicated to John Poindexter and Oliver North the song called “Don’t Explain,” but the performance of this old Billie Holiday favorite was exquisite, a masterful example of Shearing’s gift for understatement.

Thompson’s own “Up at the Crack of Don” (a Shearing title, of course) was an old-fashioned be-bop ditty of the kind Shearing himself used to write in his early quintet days. Thompson’s bass work transcended mere technique and offered quick-witted inspiration.

Classical infusions were numerous, from the Bach-like ending in “The Shadow of Your Smile” and the familiar Beethoven/Cole Porter shtick on “Night and Day” to a lieder-style version of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” that seemed a trifle laborious. There was also a lot of kidding around when Shearing and Thompson went through their two-piano pseudo-fugue ritual on “Lullaby of Birdland,” but compensation took the form of a blues interlude that brought true four-handed joy.

For all the gimmicks, Shearing still is at his best when he simply takes a tune with a strong harmonic pattern and digs into it in a no-nonsense manner. Thus, the high points were his solo piano on “Nobody Else but Me” and the two closing piano duets, Victor Feldman’s “Seven Steps to Heaven” and John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.”

Shearing and Thompson close Sunday.