Shear Brass

“Extraordinary Journey”

(Ireton Records IR01CD – released in association with ECN Music)

Jason McDermid – trumpet,
Pete Long – alto & tenor sax, clarinet
Alistair White, Martin Gladdish – trombone
James Pearson – piano
Anthony Kerr – vibes, percussion
Alec Dankworth – bass
Carl Gorham – Drums
Satin Singh – percussion,
Sarah Moule, Romy Sipek – vocals

Shear Brass was formed in 2022 by drummer, author and producer Carl Gorham, the great nephew of Sir George Shearing, to celebrate the legacy of one of Britain’s most celebrated jazz pianists and composers. Originally conceived as a soundtrack for a documentary, the project’s first recordings quickly evolved into a full-scale album release. “Celebrating Sir George Shearing” was released in 2023 on Ubuntu Music to critical acclaim.

For this second album exploring the Shearing legacy Gorham has assembled an all star cast of leading British jazz instrumentalists and vocalists, among them vocalist Romy Sipek, Gorham’s daughter and Shearing’s great-great niece.

Trumpeter Jason McDermid has arranged a cross section of pieces covering all aspects of Shearing’s diverse and lengthy musical career. Gorham adds new lyrics to two of Shearing’s instrumental compositions, “Black Satin” and “Just a Mood”, both featuring the singing of Sarah Moule. Pianist James Pearson adds two Shearing inspired originals, “By George!” and “Shear Delight”.

Saxophonist Simon Spillett contributes perceptive liner notes that offer further insights into this project, and also into Shearing himself, and of course his music.

The album commences with the rousing “Bop, Look and Listen”, a relatively unknown original gem from the Shearing back catalogue that features Long on alto sax. The overall ensemble sound is suitably bright and brassy, with Kerr’s vibes also prominent in the arrangement. Pearson is the featured soloist with two concise but fluent sorties at the keyboard. Martin Gladdish makes his only appearance of the set before handing over the trombone duties to Alistair White.

Not all of the pieces were composed by Shearing even though theybecame associated with him. A case in point is the Isham Jones / Gus Kahn composition “I’ll See You in My Dreams”, charmingly sung here by Romy Sipek.  Succinct instrumental solos come from White on trombone, Pearson at the piano, McDermid on trumpet and Long on clarinet. Dankworth’s bass and Gorham’s rapidly brushed drums provide the necessary rhythmic propulsion, with the latter enjoying a brief series of drum breaks before vocalist Sipek returns.

The evergreen and ever adaptable “Caravan”, by Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington, is an instrumental featuring the raunchy sounds of McDermid’s plunger muted trumpet and White’s trombone, allied to the exoticism of Long’s clarinet. Once again Dankworth and Gorham keep things ticking along nicely as the horns exchange phrases, sometimes in humorous fashion. Not to be outdone Pearson weighs in on piano towards the close and Dankworth also features briefly as a soloist. Great fun all round.

Written by Alex Wilder “I’ll Be Around” features the warmly rounded sounds of White’s trombone and Long’s tenor sax alongside Pearson’s piano. Bass and brushed drums provide the subtly swinging rhythmic impetus, but in a particularly inventive arrangement the drums temporarily drop out, leaving Dankworth to duet with trombonist White. Kerr’s vibes then take over from the trombone before the full ensemble kicks in once more, with White again the leading instrumentalist.

Pearson’s “By George!” is a short solo piano piece lasting just over a minute. It’s a brief but appealing homage with the composer playing in a Shearing-esque. Spillett notes that this piece and its companion composition “Shear Delight” both sound “affectionate and sincere, rather than expedient or glib”, an assessment that is very much ‘spot on’.

The always classy Sarah Moule makes her vocal bow on a Latin-esque arrangement of Shearing’s tune “Black Satin”, singing the lyrics penned by Gorham. The words work well and evoke images of sophisticated New York society of the 1950s. Satin Singh’s percussion is prominent in the arrangement and Kerr is the featured soloist on vibraphone.

Sipek takes over the vocals on a breezy and playful arrangement of the Cole Porter song “Do I Love You?”, with Pearson taking the instrumental honours.

Pearson and Kerr sparkle on a gently swinging arrangement of “September in the Rain”, a song written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin that became a hit for Shearing and his quintet. This piece sees the ensemble pared down to a quartet as the horns sit out.

The swing continues on “The Way You Look Tonight”, a song written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields. Moule’s warm and sensuous vocals are augmented by vivacious instrumental solos from Long on alto sax and Kerr at the vibes. There’s also a brief but joyous scat vocal episode.

“Shear Delight” is the second of Pearson’s solo piano homages to Shearing. More substantial in length and more reflective in mood it’s a beautiful and affectionate tribute and a highly effective palette cleanser in the context of the album as a whole.

“Just a Mood” represents Moule’s third and final vocal performance on a Shearing tune with new lyrics by Gorham. Once again the lyrics are evocative of a past era, transforming the piece into a kind of torch song and describing the effects of ‘the blues’, or depression as it might be called these days. Moule sings the lyrics with genuine feeling in an arrangement featuring the sound of lush horns and blues tinged piano, with Pearson the featured instrumental soloist. The understated but persistent rhythmic undertow of Dankworth’s bass and the lyricist’s brushed drums is also crucial to the arrangement.

Shearing’s love of Latin music, which has already found expression on the arrangement of “Black Satin” gets another airing on “Mambo No. 2”, another Shearing original. Singh returns to the fold on a jaunty Afro-Cuban style arrangement featuring punchy horns and Pearson’s masterful command of Latin piano styles. Once again the pianist is a featured soloist as the album bows out on a vibrant, life affirming note.

There’s no doubting that “Extraordinary Journey”, a title no doubt chosen to reflect the remarkable life story of Shearing himself, is a very classy piece of work. With instrumentalists and vocalists of this calibre it is hardly likely to be anything else. The presence of Shearing family members Gorham and Sipek adds an extra air of authenticity to the project. I must admit that it’s all a bit too retro for my personal tastes but there will be a lot of listeners out there who will love this album, as evidenced by the ensemble’s recent sell out performance at Ronnie Scott’s.

“Extraordinary Journey” will be released on Friday September 26th 2025

 

 

 

 

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