George Shearing Dies At 91

George Shearing, the elegant pianist who expanded the boundaries of jazz by adding an orchestral sensibility and a mellow aesthetic to the music, has died. He was 91.Mr. Shearing died Monday of congestive heart failure in New York.

On the Ivories, he was capable of many different styles, from dynamic bebop to a quiet but insistent swing. He played with larger groups but attracted his greatest attention for an excellent quintet he fronted for decades. The quintet had such hits as "September in the Rain" and "Lullaby of Birdland," the second of which he wrote in 1952 and named after the celebrated New York jazz club.