Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Erroll Garner: Erroll Garner Plays Gershwin & Kern

Erroll Garner: Erroll Garner Plays Gershwin & Kern

By Chris May
July 2, 2020
View read count

Erroll Garner: Erroll Garner Plays Gershwin & Kern

The British newspaper The Times once nailed

Abdullah Ibrahim

piano
b.1934

" data-original-title="" title="">Abdullah Ibrahim's appeal thus: "There are few musicians in jazz who can make you feel that essentially all is right in the world." The late

" data-original-title="" title="">Erroll Garner is another pianist whose music could be similarly described. You might argue that Ibrahim's task is harder, because much of his work deals with painful issues, while the ebullient Garner mostly played feelgood material from the Great American Songbook. But Garner's palette brought its own challenges, not least the need to take ownership of such a well-trodden oeuvre—which he does to a transformative degree on several of the tunes on Erroll Garner Plays Gershwin & Kern.

This Mack Avenue reissue is a remaster of an album originally released in 1976, a collection of recordings Garner made in Chicago and New York between 1964 and 1967. Side one was given over to five tunes written by

George Gershwin

composer / conductor
1898 - 1937

" data-original-title="" title="">George Gershwin, side two to six by

Jerome Kern

arranger
1895 - 1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Jerome Kern. This latest edition includes four tracks not included on the original release: Kern's "Why Do I Love You," Garner's own "Maybe You're The Only One" and two takes of Gershwin's "Nice Work If You Can Get It."

Garner is variously and unobtrusively accompanied by bassists

Eddie Calhoun

bass, acoustic
b.1921

" data-original-title="" title="">Eddie Calhoun and

Ike Isaacs

bass, acoustic
b.1919

" data-original-title="" title="">Ike Isaacs, drummers Kelly Martin and

Jimmie Smith

drums
b.1938

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmie Smith, and percussionist Jose Mangual. Garner was his own rhythm section and never really needed bassists and drummers. When present, they did best to simply to keep out of the way and embrace the groove. As all assembled here do.

Lovely, sunny, timeless music.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Strike Up The Band; Love Walked In; I Got Rhythm; Someone To Watch Over Me; A Foggy Day (In London Town); Nice Work If You Can Get It; Nice Work If You Can Get It (Take 2); Lovely To Look At; Can��t Help Lovin�� Dat Man; Only Make Believe; Old Man River; Dearly Beloved; Why Do I Love You; A Fine Romance; Maybe You��re The One.

Personnel

Erroll Garner

piano

Eddie Calhoun

bass, acoustic

Ike Isaacs

bass, acoustic

Jimmie Smith

drums

Kelly Martin

drums

Jose Mangual Sr.

bongos

Album information

Title: Erroll Garner Plays Gershwin & Kern | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Mack Avenue

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Music from new label Tao Forms
< Previous

Nicholas Krolak Interview
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.