VOA标准英语2011--Jazz Great George Shearing Dies at 91

Famed jazz pianist and composer George Shearing¹, 91, died Monday, February 14 of heart failure in New York City. Shearing was born in England but settled in the United States in 1947. His recording² career lasted more than six decades and included albums with some of the top names in jazz. Despite being blind, George Shearing became one of the world's most popular performers.
George Shearing appeared on the American jazz scene in the early 1940s with a series of successful recordings³ that featured a fine-tuned rhythm section of guitar, bass⁴, drums and vibraphone. He was already quite famous in England, but after the release of his hit song "September In The Rain," his quintet rose to new heights.
Shearing was born blind in London on August 13, 1919. He began playing piano at age three and soon fell in love with the music of Earl Hines, Fats Waller, and Art Tatum. At 19, he performed jazz accordion⁵ in Claude Bampton's all-blind band and got his first real taste of show business.
"One night, we were all ready to go. Fifteen blind musicians taught to play instruments from being chair caners and basket makers⁶ and so on," Shearing said. "Now, we're all ready to go in the theatre and the stage manager says 'Ok fellas.' And someone's glass eye had fallen out, rolled across the stage, [and] fifteen blind guys [are] down on the floor looking for this eye. They found it and gave it to him, and he put it in and the show got underway."
Shearing won over American audiences with his own style of boogie-woogie, blues⁷ and jazz swing which later became known as "The Shearing Sound." One of his best-known compositions is the jazz standard "Lullaby of Broadway," co-written with lyricist George David Weiss.
Critics were enamored of his heartfelt melodies often described as "romantic" and "whimsical." Shearing once said the birth of rock 'n' roll gave a new dimension to his repertoire⁸.
"We have benefited from the embryonic⁹ stages of rock and roll which started probably in the early '50's, and are now the glad recipients¹⁰, most of the time, of a healthy integration¹¹ between jazz, folk and rock," he said.
Over the years, Shearing's ever-changing personnel included singers Mel Torme, Carmen McRae and Peggy Lee, as well as Joe Pass, Cal Tjader and Hank Jones. His 1962 album "Nat 'King Cole' Sings, George Shearing Plays" features one of the most famous piano introductions of all time on the selection "Let There Be Love." In 1976, he collaborated¹² with the great French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli for the critically-acclaimed album "Reunion." In 2003, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the BBC Jazz Awards.
Shearing avoided the trappings of jazz fusion¹³, synthesizers and electronics that arrived late in his career. He believed that more volume didn't necessarily mean better music.
"I know that there is quite a bit of talent around and it's too loud," Shearing said. "And it's a shame."
At the peak of his career, George Shearing was immortalized in Jack¹⁴ Kerouac's 1957 novel "On The Road." Upon seeing Shearing in a Chicago nightclub, Kerouac wrote, "as always he leaned his blind head on his pale hand, all ears opened like the ears of an elephant, listening to the American sounds and mastering them for his own English summer-night's use."

1 shearing   

n.剪羊毛，剪取的羊毛v.剪羊毛( shear的现在分词 )；切断；剪切

参考例句：

• The farmer is shearing his sheep. 那农夫正在给他的羊剪毛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The result of this shearing force is to push the endoplasm forward. 这种剪切力作用的结果是推动内质向前。 来自辞典例句

2 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

3 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

4 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

5 accordion   

n.手风琴；adj.可折叠的

参考例句：

• The accordion music in the film isn't very beautiful.这部影片中的手风琴音乐不是很好。
• The accordion music reminds me of my boyhood.这手风琴的乐声让我回忆起了我的少年时代。

6 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

8 repertoire   

n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表

参考例句：

• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。
• He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。

9 embryonic   

adj.胚胎的

参考例句：

• It is still in an embryonic stage.它还处于萌芽阶段。
• The plan,as yet,only exists in embryonic form.这个计划迄今为止还只是在酝酿之中。

10 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

12 collaborated   

合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。
• We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。

13 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

14 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。