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British-American jazz pianist and composer renowned for developing the distinctive 'Shearing Sound' and writing the jazz standard 'Lullaby of Birdland'.Blind from birth, Shearing rose from London's working-class Battersea to international fame. He moved to the US in 1947, formed his groundbreaking quintet in 1949, and became a naturalized American in 1956. His career spanned over 70 years, earning multiple Grammy Awards and a knighthood.

• Shearing was born completely blind as the youngest of nine children in a coal-deliverer's family. His musical talent emerged when he taught himself piano at age three.
• He revolutionized jazz with his 'Shearing Sound'—a locked-hands technique blending piano, vibraphone, guitar, bass, and drums into a seamless harmonic tapestry.
• Despite his knighthood in 2007, Shearing remained self-deprecating, famously stating: 'I have two regrets: that I never learned Braille and that I'm not Oscar Peterson.'
• He died of congestive heart failure at 91 in New York, leaving behind over 300 compositions and collaborations with icons like Mel Tormé and Nat King Cole.