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Erroll Garner: 100th Birthday Anniversary Of The Immortal Swinging Maestro Of Jazz Piano
Erroll Garner
piano1921 - 1977
The '50s brought the advent of "cool jazz" with
Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
Along with Kind of Blue, pioneering jazz pianist
Dave Brubeck
piano1920 - 2012
Paul Desmond
saxophone, alto1924 - 1977
Following on these musical coattails, jazz saxophone master
Stan Getz
saxophone, tenor1927 - 1991
Joao Gilberto
vocals1931 - 2019
But often left out of this esteemed company and running ahead of these timetables, Garner's milestone 1955 live recording Concert by the Sea sold over a million dollars' worth of retail copies by 1958. In the opinion of critic Scott Yanow, "this is the album that made such a strong impression that Garner was considered immortal from then on."
Standing on a distinctive style, incorporating stride-to-swing playing, rearranging popular songs and adding amazing chordal rhythm with spontaneous keyboard runs, Garner held his audience until the final flourish. With sophistication in composition and technique, his mainstay ballads were rich with melody, and his sets always had that signature "swing" beat in his repertoire. As further explained by Yanow, "Garner often stated the beat with his left hand like a rhythm guitar, while his right hand played chords slightly behind the beat." Garner's unique sound and always "happy" disposition (as fondly referred to by other jazz musicians), accentuated with audible grunts, created a loyal audience throughout a very in-demand lifetime of performance.
Never learning to read music, he had a superb musical memory. As John S. Wilson related in his 1977 New York Times obituary for Garner, after attending a Carnegie Hall performance by Russian classical pianist Emil Gilels, Garner rushed home to his apartment and played a large portion of the music from recall. When asked why he had never learned to read music, Garner was fond of replying, "No one can hear you read."
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1921, Garner started to play piano at the age of three, had an exceptional ear and would be mostly self-taught except for a few early years of lessons. According to biographical accounts, at age seven he began appearing on radio station KDKA with a group called the Candy Kids. By 11, he was playing on the Allegheny riverboats. He would initially be overshadowed by his older brother Linton, an accomplished jazz pianist who would go onto play with luminaries including
Fletcher Henderson
arranger1897 - 1952
Billy Eckstine
vocals1914 - 1993
Dizzy Gillespie
trumpet1917 - 1993
Sarah Vaughan
vocals1924 - 1990
Nat King Cole
piano and vocals1919 - 1965
Erroll Garner began his professional career with a move to New York City in 1944. When Blue Note Records subsequently issued the five-volume Overture by Dawn (Blue Note, 1953) series, his compositions would begin to receive significant attention, and his recording career advanced. He would also briefly connect with the epicenter of bebop by playing with
Charlie Parker
saxophone, alto1920 - 1955
Breaking through to a much larger audience occurred with the famed Concert by the Sea recording in 1955, including bassist
Eddie Calhoun
bass, acousticb.1921
Denzil Best
drums1917 - 1965
On Contrasts (Verve, 1954), Garner would record "Misty," which would become his signature composition and a hit on radio, crossing over to popular music charts through covers by Johnny Mathis,
Ella Fitzgerald
vocals1917 - 1996
Frank Sinatra
vocals1915 - 1998
Sarah Vaughan
vocals1924 - 1990
Aretha Franklin
vocals1942 - 2018
Garner would tour widely throughout his career, establishing an audience both in the United States and in Europe through the '60s and '70s. In the U.S., his fame was furthered by the new medium of television, with Garner often appearing on The Tonight Show (reportedly Johnny Carson's favorite jazz musician) and additional appearances on other popular evening formats hosted by Flip Wilson and Ed Sullivan.
He remained remarkably prolific between a busy touring schedule. Garner scored the music for the 1963 film A New Kind of Love and released That's My Kick in 1967 (RCA Studios). His single "Misty" was featured prominently in the 1971 thriller Play Misty for Me. Garner then released Gemini (RCA Studios, 1971), Magician (Capitol Studios, 1974), and the double album Play It Again Erroll (Columbia, 1975).
Failing health forced Garner to stop touring in 1975. He was soon diagnosed with lung cancer. He died on January 2, 1977, at the age of 55.
Paul Conley is an author, radio host and award-winning jazz and news broadcaster for NPR who produced a biographical profile of Garner. He wrote, "There exists in Erroll Garner's playing an emotional infectiousness from which no one with the slightest affinity for music is immune... Listen to any Erroll Garner recording and you realize, above all else, this man loved to play piano. If you were lucky enough to see him, you also know he loved to share that joy with his audience."
Jazz pianist and composer
Billy Taylor
piano1921 - 2010
Beyond the deserved accolades are Garner's words from a 1969 interview with musician and author Arthur Taylor—available in the book from Notes and Tones: Musician-to-Musician Interviews (De Capo Press, 1977)—Garner spoke about his creative drive, aversion to playing note-for-note and his desire to always seek other interpretations.
"I'm always looking for something new. As I can't read music, I don't have to say to myself, 'this is an arrangement I wrote six months ago, and I have to play it note for note.' I get as close as I can. Each time I play 'Misty'—and I play 'Misty' I would say a thousand times a year—I add a little something. I feel that if you liked it last night and you come back to hear me tonight, maybe I can do it better. At the same time, I'm creating, and it's not becoming a bore because of sticking to one certain pattern."
Coinciding with other events celebrating the Erroll Garner centenary, the double box set Erroll Garner Jazz Project released in June 2021 has also unearthed additional live recordings that further establish the seminal artistry, composition and innovation of this keyboard master. Internationally renowned jazz drummer and NEA Jazz Master
Terri Lyne Carrington
drumsb.1965
Tags
Profile
Erroll Garner
Doug Hall
Miles Davis
Dave Brubeck
Paul Desmond
Stan Getz
Fletcher Henderson
Billy Eckstine
Dizzy Gillespie
Sarah Vaughn
Nat King Cole
Charlie Parker
Eddie Calhoun
Denzil Best
Ella Fitzgerald
frank sinatra
Ray Stevens
Aretha Franklin
Billy Taylor
Terri Lyne Carrington
Joao Gilberto
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