Shearing Joy...

Without exertion I remember few things about my one year at BYU. Some things, however, come with ease and joy. One such is a midday concert by George Shearing. My music choice in the late 50's and early 60's was easing toward jazz. Not the raucus thing that it seems to have become but a well considered, although at times immediate and spontaneous, style of music. I had sung with a double octet called the Pony Pipers. It was a group formed out of the Milwaukie High School acappella choir. Most of the things we sang were popular songs. However none were jazz songs. My impression was that jazz was intrumental. Jamie Crandall one of my roommates at the Y corrected that error by introducing me to Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross. And when I got back to Portland I was singing Sermonette as a solo. Of course my enduring devotion is to The Great One, Dave Brubeck. Back from my mission I found Jerry Mulligan. My favorite recording, Feelin' Good, has been lost. I do still have a recording of Brubeck and Muligan together in Mexico. And there were so many others... Now my voice is gone but the music goes on.