Shear Brass

When Sir George Shearing’s great nephew, drummer Carl Gorham, inherited a family folder simply marked 'Shearing', he found it contained some wonderful old photos, reviews and programmes stretching back decades. He'd always known about the amazing story of his great uncle; how George had been born blind, the youngest of 9, and had started off as a pub pianist in Lambeth, before going to the USA, selling a million and ending up becoming an international jazz star, recording hugely successful albums with Nat King Cole and Peggy Lee, playing for three different US Presidents at the White House and eventually being knighted. Something about seeing all this incredible material made Carl want to do something new with the Shearing legacy, so he got in touch with long time friend and collaborator Jason McDermid, and 'Shear Brass' was born.