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As a critic, I spend a lot of energy resisting both cliches and superlatives. Hyperbole be the enemy of specificity, and so on. In this instance I have no hesitation: I heard George Shearing at the Aspen Music Festival in 1979. He played a long, adventurous set with a bassist, Brian Torff, that I have never forgotten. Torff was easily THE BEST BASSIST I HAVE EVER HEARD BEFORE OR SINCE. And Shearing had an immaculate charm: only after his thrillingly crystalline glissandos did his invisibly awesome technique sink in. Treat to finally hear this 1986 Fresh Air interview broadcast yesterday, where he remembers meeting Charlie Parker, who asked for “All The Things You Are” in five sharps.
