William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in

jazz piano Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instr ...

Early life

William "Red" Garland was born in 1923 in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

. He began his musical studies on the clarinet and alto saxophone but, in 1941, switched to the piano. Less than five years later, Garland joined the trumpet player Hot Lips Page, well-known in the southwest, playing with him until a tour ended in New York in March 1946. With Garland having decided to stay in New York to find work, Art Blakey came across Garland playing at a small club, only to return the next night with his boss, Billy Eckstine. Garland also had a short-lived career as a

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

boxer in the 1940s. He fought more than 35 fights, one being an exhibition bout with

Sugar Ray Robinson Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarded ...

Later life and career

1955–1958: the first great Miles Davis Quintet

Garland became famous in 1954 when he joined the Miles Davis Quintet, featuring

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and rai ...

Philly Joe Jones Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Early career As a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap dancer on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio station WIP. He was ...

, and Paul Chambers. Davis was a fan of boxing and was impressed that Garland had boxed earlier in his life. Together, the group recorded their famous Prestige albums, '' Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet'' (1954), '' Workin'', '' Steamin''', '' Cookin''', and '' Relaxin'''. Garland's style is prominent in these seminal recordings—evident in his distinctive chord voicings, his sophisticated accompaniment, and his musical references to Ahmad Jamal's style. Some observers dismissed Garland as a "cocktail" pianist, but Miles was pleased with his style, having urged Garland to absorb some of Jamal's lightness of touch and harmonics within his own approach. Garland played on the first of Davis's many Columbia recordings, '' 'Round About Midnight'' (1957). Though he would continue playing with Miles, their relationship was beginning to deteriorate. By 1958, Garland and Jones had started to become more erratic in turning up for recordings and shows. He was eventually fired by Miles, but later returned to play on another jazz classic, '' Milestones''. Davis was displeased when Garland quoted Davis's much earlier, and by then famous, solo from "Now's The Time" in block chords during the slower take of "Straight, No Chaser". Garland walked out of one of the sessions for ''Milestones'', so that on the track "Sid's Ahead", Davis comped behind the saxophone solos.

1958–1984: Red Garland Trio and later life

In 1958, Garland formed his own trio. Among the musicians the trio recorded with are

Pepper Adams Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a si ...

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Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Edward F. Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986), known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. It is unclear how he acquired the moniker "Lockjaw" (later shortened in "Jaws"): it is either said that ...

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath. Biography Heath ...

Harold Land Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/ Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Cliff ...

Blue Mitchell Richard Allen "Blue" Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979) was an American trumpeter and composer who worked in jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock and funk. He recorded albums as leader and sideman for Riverside, Mainstream Records, and ...

, Ira Sullivan, and Leroy Vinnegar. The trio also recorded as a quintet with

and

Donald Byrd Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...

. Altogether, Garland led 19 recording sessions while at Prestige Records and 25 sessions for Fantasy Records. He stopped playing professionally for a number of years in the 1960s when the popularity of rock music coincided with a substantial drop in the popularity of jazz. Garland eventually returned to his native Texas in the 1970s to care for his aged mother. He led a recording in 1977, named ''Crossings'', which reunited him with Philly Joe Jones, and he teamed up with bassist

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded n ...

. His later work tended to sound more modern and less polished than his better known recordings. He continued recording until his death from a heart attack on April 23, 1984, at the age of 60.

Partial discography

As leader

Compilations

* ''

Rediscovered Masters ''Rediscovered Masters'' is a 1977 double LP by jazz pianist Red Garland releasing previously unissued recordings from sessions held between 1958 and 1961, which was issued by the Prestige label. It was later reissued on two CDs featuring one bon ...

'' (Prestige, 1958–61 977 * ''At the Prelude, Vol. 1'' (Prestige, 1959 994 (compilation of ''Red Garland at the Prelude'' + ''Red Garland Live!'') * ''Blues in the Night'' (Prestige, 1960 997 (compilation of ''Halleloo-Y'-All'' + ''Soul Burnin' '') * ''Red's Blues'' (Prestige, 1956–62 998 * ''Stretching Out'' (Prestige, 1959 002 (compilation of ''Satin Doll'' + ''Lil' Darlin' '') * ''The Best of the Red Garland Quintets'' (Prestige, 2004) * ''The Best of the Red Garland Trios'' (Prestige, 2004)

As sideman

With Arnett Cobb *''

Sizzlin' ''Sizzlin is an album by saxophonist Arnett Cobb recorded in 1960 for the Prestige label. Reception The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars.

'' (Prestige, 1960) *''

Ballads by Cobb ''Ballads by Cobb'' is an album by saxophonist Arnett Cobb recorded in 1960 for the Moodsville label.John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and rai ...

*''

Tenor Conclave ''Tenor Conclave'' is a studio album by John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Al Cohn, and Zoot Sims. It was recorded in 1956 and issued in early 1957 by Prestige Records. Prestige re-released it in 1962 with a different cover more prominently displayin ...

'' (Prestige, 1957) with

Al Cohn Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist ...

Hank Mobley Henry "Hank" Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to des ...

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

*''

John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio ''John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio'' is the third studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane. It was issued in early 1958 on Prestige Records, catalogue 7123. It was recorded at the studio of Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack, New Jersey. In ...

'' (Prestige, 1957; reissued as ''Traneing In'') *'' Soultrane'' (Prestige, 1958) *'' Lush Life'' (Prestige, 1961) *'' Settin' The Pace'' (Prestige, 1961) *'' Standard Coltrane'' (Prestige, 1962) *''

The Believer Believer(s) or The Believer(s) may refer to: Religion * Believer, a person who holds a particular belief ** Believer, a person who holds a particular religious belief *** Believers, Christians with a religious faith in the divine Christ *** Beli ...

'' (Prestige, 1964) *'' The Last Trane'' (Prestige, 1965) With

* '' The Musings of Miles'' (Prestige, 1955) * '' Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet'' (Prestige, 1955) * '' Cookin' with The Miles Davis Quintet'' (Prestige, 1956) * '' Relaxin' with The Miles Davis Quintet'' (Prestige, 1956) * '' Workin' with The Miles Davis Quintet'' (Prestige, 1956) * ''

Steamin' with The Miles Davis Quintet ''Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet'' is a studio album by the Miles Davis quintet, recorded in 1956 but not released until July or August 1961. Two sessions on May 11, 1956 and October 26 in the same year resulted in an additional three alb ...

'' (Prestige, 1956) * '' 'Round About Midnight'' (Columbia, 1957) * '' Milestones'' (Columbia, 1958) With

Curtis Fuller Curtis DuBois Fuller (December 15, 1932May 8, 2021) was an American jazz Trombone, trombonist. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributed to many classic jazz recordings. Early life Fuller was born in Detroit on December ...

*''

Curtis Fuller with Red Garland ''Curtis Fuller with Red Garland'' is an album by trombonist Curtis Fuller with pianist Red Garland recorded in 1957 and originally released on the New Jazz label, a subsidiary of Prestige Records in 1963.Jackie McLean John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their dea ...

*''

McLean's Scene ''McLean's Scene'' is a studio album by saxophonist Jackie McLean. It was recorded in 1956 and 1957, but not released until 1959 on Prestige's subsidiary label New Jazz Records, as NJ 8212. It was reissued on CD in 1991. Three tracks features Mc ...

'' (Prestige, 1956) With

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

*''Charlie Parker at Storyville'' (Blue Note, 1953) With

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known ...

*'' Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section'' (Contemporary, 1957) With

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as ...

*'' Tenor Madness'' (Prestige, 1956) With

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began ...

*'' Sugan'' (Status/Prestige, 1957

965 Year 965 ( CMLXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II conquers the fortress cities of Tar ...

References

External links

"Red's Bells," an in-depth analysis by Ethan IversonDiscography at jazzdisco.org
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garland, Red 1923 births 1984 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists Musicians from Dallas Hard bop pianists Miles Davis Quintet members Xanadu Records artists Muse Records artists Prestige Records artists Timeless Records artists Galaxy Records artists 20th-century American pianists American male jazz musicians African-American pianists 20th-century American male musicians