He succeeded Jim Trimble in the late 1960s, led the band during Kenton's illnesses, and produced several of its albums.
For the next three years, Shearer was director of jazz bands at Wayne State University in Detroit.
[1] Shearer also championed what is referred to as the "breath attack", where repeated notes (usually in a ballad) are not tongued, but are given an extra "push" of air.
Mike Vax, lead trumpeter of the Stan Kenton Orchestra, said, "Dick Shearer was the most important person on the band.
Dick's trombone was derivative of all the great Kenton lead players, going all the way back to Kai Winding.