Jazz Reviews : George Shearing Magic at Vine St. Bar & Grill

Three months in front of his 69th birthday, George Shearing is back up to his old tricks, transforming the familiar jazz repertoire into visions of sheer magic. In town this week for what promises to become a continuing string of annual appearances at the Vine St. Bar & Grill, the English-born pianist, accompanied by his new partner, opened a five-night run Wednesday by once again--as he has done so many times in the past four decades--dominating a room with the very presence of his impeccable creativity.

The addition of Canadian bassist Neil Swainson--a fleet-fingered, highly supportive player--has clearly helped to bring Shearing’s music into the clearest focus it has had in years.

Opening with a precise, up-tempo unison romp through Charlie Parker’s “Dexterity,” the pianist whipped into a solo that was a virtual mini-history of 1940s jazz, with references to Bud Powell’s high-speed right hand, Erroll Garner’s lag-along rhythms and his own locked-hand block chords.

Swainson had an opportunity to step forward on a grooving “There Is No Greater Love” and “Breakout Blues” (from Shearing’s new album), and he made the most of it with solos that were as articulate as they were swinging.

But the real high points of the set came on two Shearing ballad solos: “Prelude to a Kiss” and “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was.” The first was dominated by a right-hand line that skipped over the chords like a flat rock across the surface of a summer lake. The second was a virtual re-composition in which Shearing sustained a series of extraordinary harmonic densities with a bell-like repetition that rang throughout his improvisation.

If his current appearance is any indication, Shearing--like Horowitz, Casals, Segovia and Picasso before him (to mention only a few of the names that come to mind)--seems to be entering his later years with a remarkably centered creative vision. Elegant, to-the-point and completely trimmed of excess baggage, his music is a model of everything that mature, thoughtful jazz can be.

Shearing continues at the Vine St. through Sunday night, with performances at 9 and 11.