Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad "

Misty In cryptography, MISTY1 (or MISTY-1) is a block cipher designed in 1995 by Mitsuru Matsui and others for Mitsubishi Electric. MISTY1 is one of the selected algorithms in the European NESSIE project, and has been among the cryptographic tech ...

", his best-known composition, has become a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...

. It was first recorded in 1956 with Mitch Miller and his orchestra, and played a prominent part in the 1971 motion picture '' Play Misty for Me''.

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

calls him "one of the most distinctive of all pianists" and a "brilliant virtuoso". Garner received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

at 6363 Hollywood Boulevard. His live album '' Concert by the Sea'' first released in 1955, sold more than 1 million copies by 1958, and Yanow's opinion on the album is that it "made such a strong impression that Garner was considered immortal from then on."

Life and career

Garner was born, along with twin brother Ernest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 15, 1921, the youngest of six children. He attended George Westinghouse High School (as did fellow pianists

Billy Strayhorn William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take the ...

and

Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones; July 2, 1930 – April 16, 2023) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator. For six decades, he was one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. He was a NEA Jazz Ma ...

). Interviews with his family, music teachers, other musicians, and a detailed family tree can be found in ''Erroll Garner: The Most Happy Piano'' by James M. Doran.

Piano career

Garner began playing piano at the age of three. His elder siblings were taught piano by a "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. Garner was self-taught and remained an "ear player" all his life, never learning to read music. At age 7, he began appearing on the radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh with a group named the Candy Kids. By age 11, he was playing on the Allegheny riverboats. In 1937 he joined local saxophonist Leroy Brown. He played locally in the shadow of Linton Garner, his older brother, also a pianist. Garner moved to New York City in 1944. He briefly worked with the bassist Slam Stewart, and although not a

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

musician per se, in 1947 played with

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

on the "Cool Blues" session. Although his admission to the Pittsburgh music union initially was refused because of his inability to read music, the union relented in 1956 and made him an honorary member. Garner is credited with a superb musical memory. After attending a concert by Russian classical pianist

Emil Gilels Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (19 October 191614 October 1985, born Samuil) was a Soviet pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. His sister Elizabeth, three years his junior, was a violinist. His daughter Elena ...

, Garner returned to his apartment and was able to play a large portion of the performed music by memory.

Columbia Records Lawsuit

Garner sued Columbia Records in 1960 for breach of contract after Columbia released several recordings without Garner's consent. Garner had signed a five-year deal with Columbia in 1956, which contained an unprecedented clause (negotiated with the aid of manager Martha Glaser) giving Garner the right to approve the release of any of his recorded music. After three years of litigation, during which time Columbia continued to release Garner recordings against his will, the New York State Supreme Court ruled in Garner's favor in a landmark decision with regard to artist's rights, and Columbia paid Garner a substantial settlement and recalled all of the unauthorized records from its distributors.

Martha Glaser

Garner was managed by Martha Glaser from 1950 until his death in 1977, with a period of this time as her only client.

Death

Garner died of cardiac arrest related to

emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...

on January 2, 1977, aged 55. He is buried in Pittsburgh's Homewood Cemetery.

Playing style

Short in stature (), Garner performed sitting on multiple telephone directories. 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. 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." His distinctive style could swing like no other, but some of his best recordings are ballads, such as his best-known composition, "

", which rapidly became a

– and was featured in

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

's film '' Play Misty for Me'' (1971). Garner may have been inspired by the example of

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

, a fellow Pittsburgh resident who was 18 years his senior, and there were resemblances in their elastic approach to timing and use of right-hand octaves. Garner's early recordings display the influence of the stride piano style of James P. Johnson and

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...

. 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 an insouciant quality and at the same time an exciting rhythmic tension. He would also enhance the effect by accelerating and decelerating the beat in the right hand, a device nicknamed the "Russian Dragon" (rushing and dragging). The independence of his hands also was evidenced by his masterful use of three-against-four and more complicated

polyrhythm Polyrhythm () is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rh ...

s between the hands. In trio settings, he often played the 3:2 son clave rhythm pattern in his left hand chording on Latin tunes, and on swing tunes, he played the similar 12/8 Rhumba clave rhythm pattern. Garner frequently improvised whimsical introductions—often in stark contrast to the rest of the tune—that left listeners and even fellow band members in suspense as to what the piece would be or when the introduction would come to an end. Bassist Ray Brown called Garner "The Happy Man". Pianist

Ross Tompkins Ross Tompkins (May 13, 1938 – June 30, 2006) was an American jazz pianist who was a member of ''The Tonight Show'' Band. Biography Tompkins attended the New England Conservatory of Music, then moved to New York City, where he worked with Kai ...

described Garner's distinctiveness as due to "happiness".

Works

Garner's first recordings were made in late 1944 at the apartment of Timme Rosenkrantz; these subsequently were issued as the five-volume ''Overture to Dawn'' series on

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...

. 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 Denzil DaCosta Best (April 27, 1917 – May 24, 1965) was an American jazz percussionist and composer born in New York City. He was a prominent bebop drummer in the 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Best was born in New York City, into a musi ...

on drums. This recording of a performance at the Sunset Center, a former school in

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...

, 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 John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

. It was also recorded by

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

, Ray Stevens and

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

. '' One World Concert'' was recorded at the 1962 Seattle World Fair (and in 1959 stretching out in the studios) and features Eddie Calhoun on bass and Kelly Martin on drums. Other works include 1951's '' Long Ago and Far Away'', 1953's '' Erroll Garner at the Piano'' with Wyatt Ruther and Fats Heard, 1957's '' The Most Happy Piano'', 1970's '' Feeling Is Believing'' and 1974's '' Magician'', 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 BBC Two The programme was hosted by Steve Race, who introduced Garner's trio with Eddie Calhoun on bass and Kelly Martin on drums. Because Garner could not write down his musical ideas, he used to record them on tape, to be later transcribed by others. 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 Garnerphiles converged in Cheltenham for an afternoon of music, food and fun on what would have been Garner's 75th birthday. That evening, they learned of the death of jazz legend

Archive and newly discovered material

Erroll Garner exhibit at the University of Pittsburgh

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 Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and ...

and his fellow musicians

, 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. 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. On July 13, 2018, a live concert recording of Garner playing in 1964 at the

Concertgebouw Concertgebouw may refer to one of the following concert halls: * Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands * Concertgebouw, Bruges, Belgium * Concertgebouw de Vereeniging, Netherlands {{disambiguation Buildings and structures disambiguation pages ...

in the Netherlands was released by Mack Avenue Records with the title ''Nightconcert.'' Garner was posthumously featured on the track "All Night Parking" with

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

on her fourth studio album, '' 30'' (2021). The song is built around a sample of Joey Pecoraro's "Finding Parking" (2017), which in turn samples Garner's 1964 live performance of his song "No More Shadows" on the BBC television program '' Jazz 625''.

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 "

", as well as Garner's extensive archive of master recordings, many of which remain unreleased.

Discography

* ''Penthouse Serenade'' (1945–1949),

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

MG12002 * ''Serenade To Laura'' (1945–1949), Savoy MG12003 * ''Giants of the Piano'' (split album with

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever. From early in his career, fellow musicians acclaimed Tatum's technical ability as extraordinary. Tatum a ...

) (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 The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

1227 * ''Piano Moods'' (1950), Columbia CL6139 0"* ''Gems'' (1951), Columbia CL6173 0" (1954); Columbia CL583 2"* ''Solo Flight'' (1952), Columbia CL6209 0"

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

B 07602 R 0"* ''Plays for Dancing'' (1953), Columbia CL6259 0" (1956) Columbia CL667 2"* ''Erroll Garner (At the Piano)'' (1953) (with Wyatt Ruther, Fats Heard), Columbia CL535; Philips B 07015 L; reissue: CBS K62 311 * ''Gone With Garner'' (1954), EmArcy MG26042 * ''Garnering'' (1954), EmArcy MG36026 * ''Mambo Moves Garner'' (1954), Mercury MG20055 * '' Contrasts'' (1955), 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 Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

singing (!) (1955), Columbia CL651 * '' Concert by the Sea'' (September 19, 1955), Columbia CL883; also released later in an expanded three-CD version ''The Complete Concert by the Sea'' (2015) * ''Garnerland'' (1955), Columbia CL2540 0"released in Columbia's "House Party Series" * ''He's Here! He's Gone! He's Garner!'' (1956), Columbia CL2606 0"released in Columbia's "House Party Series" * ''After Midnight'' (1956), Columbia CL-834 * ''The Most Happy Piano'' (1957), Columbia CL939 talian CBS reissue, ''Il magico pianoforte di Erroll Garner'', CBS Serie Rubino 52065, 1967* ''Other Voices'', with

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

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 ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! Records, Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquire ...

365 * ''Closeup in Swing'' (1961), ABC-Paramount 395 * ''Informal Piano Improvisations'' (1962), Baronet B-109 * ''One World Concert'' (1963),

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

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 Thomas Maxwell Davis, Jr. (January 14, 1916 – September 18, 1970), was an American rhythm and blues saxophonist, arrangement, arranger, bandleader and record producer. Biography Davis was born in Independence, Kansas in 1916. In 1937, h ...

Trio'' (1964),

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

CLP-5404 * ''Serenade in Blue'' (1964), Clarion 610 * ''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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

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 London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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 r2445 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 Legacy or Legacies may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * " Batman: Legacy", a 1996 Batman storyline * '' DC Universe: Legacies'', a comic book series from DC Comics * ''Legacy'', a 1999 quarterly series from Antarctic Press * ''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 * “All Night Parking” (2021), Columbia/ elted Stone Adele ( 30)

Personal life

Garner did not marry, but fathered a daughter, Kim Garner, who is interviewed in ''No One Can Hear You Read''.

References

External links

* * *
Repository of the Erroll Garner Estate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garner, Erroll 1921 births 1977 deaths 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American jazz composers African-American jazz musicians African-American pianists American jazz pianists American male jazz composers American male jazz pianists Apollo Records artists Blue Note Records artists Burials at Homewood Cemetery Columbia Records artists Deaths from emphysema EmArcy Records artists Imperial Records artists Jubilee Records artists Mack Avenue Records artists Mercury Records artists Jazz musicians from Pittsburgh RCA Victor artists Savoy Records artists Signature Records artists DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members