Erroll Garner

Erroll Garner
c. 1947
Background information
Born	(1921-06-15)June 15, 1921[1][2][3][4] Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	January 2, 1977(1977-01-02) (aged 55) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician Composer
Instruments	Piano
Years active	1944–1974
Labels	Mercury, Columbia, Verve, Blue Note, London, Savoy, Mack Avenue, EmArcy

Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977)^[5][6][7] was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His best-known composition, the ballad "Misty", has become a jazz standard. Scott Yanow of Allmusic calls him "one of the most distinctive of all pianists" and a "brilliant virtuoso."^[8] He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6363 Hollywood Blvd. His live album, Concert by the Sea,^[9] first released in 1955, sold over a million copies by 1958 and Scott Yanow's opinion is: "this is the album that made such a strong impression that Garner was considered immortal from then on."^[10]

Life and career[]

Garner was born with his twin brother Ernest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 15, 1921, the youngest of six children^[11] in his family. He attended George Westinghouse High School (as did fellow pianists Billy Strayhorn and Ahmad Jamal). Interviews with his family and music teachers (and with other musicians), plus a detailed family tree are given in Erroll Garner: The Most Happy Piano by James M Doran.

Piano career[]

Erroll Garner during his visit to Helsinki, Finland in November 1964

Garner began playing piano at the age of three. His elder siblings were taught piano by Miss Bowman. From an early age, Erroll would sit down and play anything she had demonstrated, just like Miss Bowman, his eldest sister Martha said.^[12] Garner was self-taught and remained an "ear player" all his life, never learning to read music.^[3] At age seven, he began appearing on the radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh with a group called the Candy Kids. By age 11, he was playing on the Allegheny riverboats. In 1937 he joined local saxophonist .

He played locally in the shadow of his older pianist brother Linton Garner.

Garner moved to New York City in 1944.^[11] He briefly worked with the bassist Slam Stewart, and though not a bebop musician per se, in 1947 played with Charlie Parker on the "Cool Blues" session. Although his admission to the Pittsburgh music union was initially refused because of his inability to read music, it relented in 1956 and made him an honorary member.^[3] Garner is credited with a superb musical memory. After attending a concert by the Russian classical pianist Emil Gilels, Garner returned to his apartment and was able to play a large portion of the performed music by recall.^[3]

Garner made many tours both at home and abroad, and regularly recorded. He was, reportedly, The Tonight Show host Johnny Carson's favorite jazz musician, appearing on Carson's show many times over the years.^{[citation needed]}

Martha Glaser[]

Garner was managed by Martha Glaser from 1950 until his death in 1977,^[13] for some of this time as her only client.^[14]

Death[]

Garner died of cardiac arrest related to emphysema on January 2, 1977.^[3] He is buried in Pittsburgh's Homewood Cemetery.

Playing style[]

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Short in stature (5 feet 2 inches [157 cm]), Garner performed sitting on multiple telephone directories.^[3][15] He was also known for his vocalizations while playing, which can be heard on many of his recordings. He helped to bridge the gap for jazz musicians between nightclubs and the concert hall.

Called "one of the most distinctive of all pianists" by Scott Yanow, Garner showed that a "creative jazz musician can be very popular without watering down his music" or changing his personal style.^[8] He has been described as a "brilliant virtuoso who sounded unlike anyone else", using an "orchestral approach straight from the swing era but ... open to the innovations of bop."^[8] His distinctive style could swing like no other, but some of his best recordings are ballads, such as his best-known composition, "Misty", which rapidly became a jazz standard – and was featured in Clint Eastwood's film Play Misty for Me (1971).

Garner may have been inspired by the example of Earl Hines, a fellow Pittsburgh resident but 18 years his senior, and there were resemblances in their elastic approach to timing and use of right-hand octaves. Garner's early recordings also display the influence of the stride piano style of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. Garner's melodic improvisations generally stayed close to the theme while employing novel chord voicings and other devices. He developed a signature style that involved his right hand playing slightly behind the beat while his left strummed a steady rhythm and punctuation, creating a carefree quality and at the same time an exciting rhythmic tension. Garner would play his right hand melodies behind the beat and then increase the tempo slightly in the right hand to catch up with his left hand pulse. This had a dramatic swelling effect sometimes referred to as "gas pedal" time referring to an automobile accelerator. This shifting back and forth between dragging and rushing has also been nicknamed the "Russian Dragon". Many jazz musicians phrase in a similar manner but Garner took it to extremes more so than most. The independence of his hands also was evidenced by his masterful use of three-against-four and more complicated cross-rhythms between the hands. In trio settings he would often play the 3:2 son clave rhythm pattern in his left hand chording on Latin tunes. And on swing tunes he would play the similar 12/8 Rhumba clave rhythm pattern. Garner would frequently improvise whimsical introductions — often in stark contrast to the rest of the tune — that left listeners in suspense as to what the piece would be.

Bassist Ray Brown called Garner "The Happy Man". Pianist Ross Tompkins described Garner's distinctiveness as due to 'happiness'.^[14]

Works[]

Garner's first recordings were made in late 1944 at the apartment of Timme Rosenkrantz;^[16] these were subsequently issued as the five-volume Overture to Dawn series on Blue Note Records. His recording career advanced in the late 1940s when several sides such as "Fine and Dandy", "Skylark" and "Summertime" were cut. His 1955 live album Concert by the Sea was a best-selling jazz album in its day and features Eddie Calhoun on bass and Denzil Best on drums. This recording of a performance at the Sunset Center, a former school in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, was made using relatively primitive sound equipment, but for George Avakian the decision to release the recording was easy.

In 1954 Garner composed "Misty", first recording it in 1955 for the album Contrasts. Lyrics were later added by Johnny Burke. "Misty" rapidly became popular, both as a jazz standard and as the signature song of Johnny Mathis. It was also recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Stevens and Aretha Franklin. Clint Eastwood used it as the basis for his thriller Play Misty For Me.

was recorded at the 1962 Seattle World Fair (and in 1959 stretching out in the studios) and features Eddie Calhoun on bass and on drums.^[17] Other works include 1951's , 1953's with Wyatt Ruther and Fats Heard,^[18] 1957's , 1970's and 1974's , on which Garner performs a number of classic standards. Often the trio was expanded to add Latin percussion, usually a conga.

In 1964, Garner appeared in the UK on the music series Jazz 625 broadcast on the BBC's new second channel. The programme was hosted by Steve Race, who introduced Garner's trio with Eddie Calhoun on bass and Kelly Martin on drums.^[19]

Because Garner could not write down his musical ideas, he used to record them on tape, to be later transcribed by others.^[20]

The Erroll Garner Club was founded in 1982 in Aberlady, Scotland. On September 26, 1992 Garnerphiles from England, Scotland, Germany and the US met in London for a unique and historic get-together. The guests of honour were Eddie Calhoun (bassist) and Kelly Martin (drummer), Garner's rhythm section from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. On June 15, 1996 many of the UK's keenest Garnerphiles converged in Cheltenham for an afternoon of music, food and fun on what would have been Garner's 75th birthday. That evening they were saddened to hear of the death of another jazz legend: Ella Fitzgerald.^[21]

Archive and newly discovered material[]

An exhibit in the University of Pittsburgh's William Pitt Union from the Erroll Garner Archives

In 2012 a film on Garner was released by Atticus Brady called No One Can Hear You Read, which Garner used to say when asked why he had never learned to read music. Footage of the piano prodigy playing and speaking was intercut with interviews: with admirers (including Woody Allen, Steve Allen and his fellow musicians Ahmad Jamal, also from Pittsburgh and Ernest McCarty, his bassist for many years); with family members, including his big sister Ruth Garner Moore and daughter Kim Garner; with George Avakian, the producer of Concert by the Sea; and with Jim Doran his biographer. The film attempts to address Garner's fall from prominence after his death, reminding viewers how popular and original he was in his day as well as why he is considered in many quarters a legend, one of the true greats of jazz.

On June 15, 2015, the estate of Martha Glaser, Garner's longtime manager, announced the formation of the Erroll Garner Jazz Project, a major new archival and musical celebration of Garner. The project includes the donation of the Erroll Garner Archive—a huge trove of newly discovered historical material from Garner's life—to the University of Pittsburgh.^[22][23]

On September 18, 2015, Concert by the Sea was re-released by Sony Legacy in an expanded, three-CD edition that adds 11 previously unreleased tracks.

On September 30, 2016, Ready Take One was released on Sony Legacy/Octave featuring 14 previously unreleased tracks.^[24]

On July 13, 2018, a live concert recording of Garner playing in 1964 at the Concertgebouw in the Netherlands was released by Mack Avenue Records with the title Nightconcert.^[25]

Publishing rights[]

In 2016, Downtown Music Publishing entered an exclusive worldwide administration agreement with Octave Music Publishing Corp. The deal covers all of Garner's works including "Misty", as well as Garner's extensive archive of master recordings, many of which remain unreleased.^[26]

Material loss[]

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Erroll Garner among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.^[27]

Discography[]

• Penthouse Serenade (1945–1949), Savoy MG12002
• Serenade To Laura (1945–1949), Savoy MG12003
• Giants of the Piano (split album with Art Tatum) (1947 Hollywood recordings with Red Callender, Hal West), Roost 2213; Vogue LAE 12209
• Early in Paris (1948), Blue Music Group
• Back To Back (split album with Billy Taylor) (1949), Savoy MG12008
• Erroll Garner (August 1949) (Los Angeles recordings with John Simmons, Alvin Stoller), (2 volumes: Joker BM 3718 and BM 3719)
• The Greatest Garner (1949–1950), Atlantic 1227
• Piano Moods (1950), Columbia CL6139 [10"]
• Gems (1951), Columbia CL6173 [10"]; (1954); Columbia CL583 [12"]
• Solo Flight (1952), Columbia CL6209 [10"]; Philips B 07602 R [10"]
• Plays for Dancing (1953), Columbia CL6259 [10"]; (1956) Columbia CL667 [12"]
• Erroll Garner (At the Piano) (1953) (with Wyatt Ruther, Fats Heard), Columbia CL535; Philips B 07015 L; reissue: CBS [UK] 62 311
• Gone With Garner (1954), EmArcy MG26042
• Garnering (1954), EmArcy MG36026
• Mambo Moves Garner (1954), Mercury MG20055
• Contrasts (1954), EmArcy MG36001
• Erroll! (Erroll Garner In The Land Of Hi-Fi) (1954–1955), EmArcy MG36069
• Plays Misty (1954–1955), Mercury MG20662
• Solitaire (1955), Mercury MG20063
• Afternoon of an Elf (1955), Mercury MG20090
• Gone Garner Gonest (1955), Columbia CL617
• Music for Tired Lovers, with Woody Herman singing (!) (1955), Columbia CL651
• Concert by the Sea (September 19, 1955), Columbia CL883; also released later in an expanded 3-CD version: The Complete Concert by the Sea (2015), see below...
• Garnerland (1955), Columbia CL2540 [10"] released in Columbia's "House Party Series"
• He's Here! He's Gone! He's Garner! (1956), Columbia CL2606 [10"] released in Columbia's "House Party Series"
• After Midnight (1956), Columbia CL-834
• The Most Happy Piano (1957), Columbia CL939 [Italian CBS reissue, Il magico pianoforte di Erroll Garner, CBS Serie Rubino 52065, 1967]
• Other Voices, with Mitch Miller and orchestra (1957), Columbia CL1014
• Soliloquy (1957), Columbia CL1060
• Encores in Hi-Fi (1958), Columbia CL1141
• Paris Impressions, Vol. 1 (1958), Columbia CL1212
• Paris Impressions, Vol. 2 (1958), Columbia CL1213
• The One and Only Erroll Garner (1960), Columbia C1452
• Swinging Solos (1960), Columbia CL1512
• The Provocative Erroll Garner (1961), Columbia CL1587
• Dreamstreet (1961), ABC-Paramount 365
• Closeup in Swing (1961), ABC-Paramount 395
• Informal Piano Improvisations (1962), Baronet B-109
• One World Concert (1963), Reprise R9-6080
• A New Kind of Love: Erroll Garner with Full Orchestra, Conducted by Leith Stevens (1963), Mercury SR-60859; Phillips BL 7595
• Mr. Erroll Garner and the Maxwell Davis Trio (1964), Crown CLP-5404
• Serenade in Blue (1964), Clarion 610^[28]
• Amsterdam Concert (November 7, 1964), Philips BL 7717; Philips 632 204 BL
• Erroll Garner Plays (1965), Ember FA 2011
• Now Playing: A Night at the Movies (1965), MGM SE-4335
• Campus Concert (1966), MGM SE-4361
• That's My Kick (1967), MGM SE-4463
• Up in Erroll's Room (Featuring 'The Brass Bed') (1968), MGM SE-4520; Pye International NSPL.28123
• Feeling is Believing (1970), Mercury SR-61308
• Gemini (1972), London XPS-617
• Magician (1974), London APS-640
• Play it Again, Erroll! (1975), Columbia PG-33424 (double album)
• The Elf: The Savoy Sessions (1976), Savoy SJL-2207 (double album)
• Erroll Garner Plays Gershwin & Kern (1976), Polydor [Fr] 2445 030; (1985), EmArcy 826 224
• Yesterdays (1978), Savoy SJL-1118
• Long Ago and Far Away (1987), Columbia CK-40863
• Body & Soul (1991), Columbia CK-47035
• Erroll Garner's Finest Hour (2003) Verve 589 775
• The Complete Concert by the Sea (2015), Columbia/Legacy 888751208421 (3-CD set)
• The Real...Erroll Garner (The Ultimate Collection) (2016), Sony Music 889853056323 (3-CD set)
• Ready Take One (2016), Octave Music/Legacy 889853633128
• Nightconcert (2018), Mack Avenue 1142^[29]

Personal life[]

Garner did not marry, but fathered a daughter, Kim Garner, who is interviewed in No One Can Hear You Read.^[14] He is thought to have also fathered a son, whom he named Linton Garner.

References[]

External links[]

• Erroll Garner at AllMusic
• Erroll Garner at Find a Grave
• Erroll Garner at IMDb
• Repository of the Erroll Garner Estate