Erroll
Louis Garner
BORN: June 15, 1921, Pittsburgh, PA
DIED: January 2, 1977, Los Angeles, CA
One of the most distinctive of all pianists, Erroll
Garner proved that it was possible to be a sophisticated
player without knowing how to read music, that a
creative jazz musician can be very popular without
watering down his music, and that it is possible to
remain an enthusiastic player without changing one's
style once it is formed. A brilliant virtuoso who
sounded unlike anyone else, Erroll Garner on
medium-tempo pieces often stated the beat with his left
hand like a rhythm guitar while his right played chords
slightly behind the beat, creating a memorable effect.
His playful free-form introductions (which forced his
sidemen to really listen), his ability to play stunning
runs without once glancing at the keyboard, his grunting
and the pure joy that he displayed while performing were
also part of the Erroll Garner magic.
Garner, whose older brother Linton is also a fine
pianist, appeared on the radio with the Kan-D-Kids at
the age of ten. After working locally in Pittsburgh, he
moved to New York in 1944 and worked with Slam Stewart's
trio during 1944-45 before going out on his own. By 1946
Garner had his sound together and when he backed Charlie
Parker on his famous "Cool Blues" session of
1947, the pianist was already an obvious giant. His
unclassifiable style had an orchestral approach straight
from the swing era but was open to the innovations of
bop. From the early '50s Garner's accessible style
became very popular and he never seemed to have an off
day up until his forced retirement (due to illness) in
early 1975. His composition "Misty" became a
standard. Erroll Garner, who had the ability to sit at
the piano without prior planning and record three albums
in one day (all colorful first takes), made many records
throughout his career for such companies as Savoy,
Mercury, RCA, Dial, Columbia, EmArcy, ABC-Paramount,
MGM, Reprise and his own Octave label. ~ Scott Yanow,
All-Music Guide
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