George Shearing, the great pianist, composer and band leader died a little less than two weeks ago, at the age of 91. His story is an amazing one, and this site tells it better than I could, so have a look: (http://www.georgeshearing.net/). Known as a musician's musician, he was a brilliant pianist who made major innovations both vertically and horizontally (i.e. melodically and harmonically). A great writer as well, his most famous piece "Lullaby of Birdland" has become a staple of the jazz repertoire. But my personal favourite is "Conception", a tune I first heard on Bill Evans' debut album, New Jazz Conceptions (1956). It's the sort of tune known as a "minefield" among jazz players because of the extremely challenging nature of its chord changes. And, on top of that, it's usually played at a high tempo, as it is in this version, which features glittering solos from the magnificent guitarist, Chuck Wayne and Shearing, and great ensemble work from the whole group: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KQCtE2t1kM.