Creativity Quote by George Shearing

There’s a disarming practicality to Shearing’s wording: “The way it works” doesn’t sound like artistry, it sounds like a well-run kitchen. That’s the point. He’s pulling the curtain back on the mechanics of an evening’s entertainment, treating the concert not as mystical self-expression but as a sequence you pace, portion, and land cleanly. The verb “terminate” is almost comically brisk for music-making, like he’s filing paperwork rather than finishing a set. It signals a musician who thinks in terms of craft, logistics, and audience energy, not romantic fog.

The structure he describes also hints at the old ecosystem of touring and broadcasting: an “orchestra” warms the room, then the featured name steps in to seal the first half with authority. Shearing isn’t bragging; he’s describing a contract with the crowd. You give them a sampler of the ensemble, then you deliver the recognizable voice at the pivot point, right before intermission when attention can drift and applause becomes currency.

Ending “usually with a movement from a Mozart concerto” is doing quiet cultural work. Mozart functions like a shared reference point, a credibility stamp that reads as elegance without being alienating. For a jazz musician who navigated pop audiences, radio, and highbrow rooms, Mozart is a bridge: familiar enough to reassure, prestigious enough to elevate, structured enough to make a clean ending. The subtext is professionalism as style: taste, timing, and the confidence to let a classic speak for you.