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George Shearing has developed an uncanny rapport with his audiences' whims and nuances. He's an elegant pianist, a masonry-tight arranger, and an inveterate punster (and he's forgotten more about group blending and subtle harmonies than most living jazz musicians ever learned). Shearing arrived from England in 1947 and landed on his feet in Manhattan as a canny leader and player and has seldom looked back. Here, Shearing draws on the bebop chestnuts he cut his teeth on: Clifford Brown's "Joy Spring" and Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee," stated in immaculate almost-octaves. The witty Brit keeps the ballads short, the swingers long, and often patters genially in between tunes. He allots ample blowing space to his seasoned squad of swingers: vibraphonist Don Thompson ("Fly Me to the Moon," "Drop Me off in Harlem"), guitarist Reg Schwager (title track), and stalwart bassist Neil Swainson (wherever). Shearing's ever-nimble piano playing is a marvel of shading and nuance, often slipping in apt classical analogies to standards. --Fred Bouchard