Composer ("Misty") and pianist, the brother of Linton Garner. He was a professional pianist at age seven over KDKA radio in Pittsburgh. After his high school education, he entertained in high schools and theatres in New York and California, and was featured with the Slam Stewart Trio. Later he formed his own trio, and appeared at the Paris Jazz Festival in 1948. He has made many records. Erroll Garner was the first jazz artist presented by impresario Sol Hurok, and he was among the first to give concerts in the outdoor circuits, and the first musician to present a concert-in-the-round in summer concert tents. His tours included a number of European visits, concerts, television appearances, and live venues including the Seattle World's Fair. Joining ASCAP in 1955, he collaborated musically with Edward Heyman and Johnny Burke. His other popular-song and instrumental compositions include "Dreamy", "Solitaire", "Blues Garni", "Trio", "Turquoise", "Other Voices", "No More Shadows", "Passing Through", "Dreamstreet", "Theme from 'A New Kind of Love'", "Paris Mist", "Play, Play, Play" (awarded the Prix du Disque in Paris) and "Erroll's Bounce".
Coordinates | 67°56′″N32°55′″N |
---|---|
Name | Erroll Garner |
Background | solo_singer |
Birth name | Erroll Louis Garner |
Born | June 15, 1921Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Died | January 02, 1977Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Instrument | Jazz piano |
Genre | Jazz |
Occupation | Composer, pianist |
Years active | 1944–1974 |
Label | Mercury RecordsColumbia RecordsVerve RecordsBlue Note RecordsLondon Records |
Website | }} |
He played locally in the shadow of his older pianist brother Linton Garner and moved to New York in 1944. He briefly worked with the bassist Slam Stewart, and though not a bebop musician ''per se'', in 1947 played with Charlie Parker on the famous "Cool Blues" session. Although his admission to the Pittsburgh music union was initially refused because of his inability to read music, they eventually relented in 1956 and made him an honorary member. Garner is credited with having a superb memory of music. After attending a concert by the Russian classical pianist Emil Gilels, Garner returned to his apartment and was able to play a large portion of the performed music by recall.
Short in stature (5 foot 2 inches), Garner performed sitting on multiple telephone directories, except when playing in New York City, where a Manhattan phone book was sufficient. He was also known for his occasional 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.
Until his death from lung cancer on January 2, 1977, he made many tours both at home and abroad, and produced a large volume of recorded work. Garner is buried in Pittsburgh's Homewood Cemetery. He was, reportedly, ''The Tonight Show'' host Johnny Carson's favorite jazz musician; Garner appeared on Carson's show many times over the years.
Garner may have been inspired by the example of Earl Hines, a fellow Pittsburgh resident but 18 years his senior, and there were resemblances in their elastic approach to timing and the use of the right-hand octaves. As it is especially shown by Garner's early recordings, another clear influence on him was the stride piano style of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. Erroll's definitive style, however, was unique and had neither obvious forerunners nor competent imitators although, at an amateur level, more players attempted to imitate him than any other pianist in jazz history. A key factor in his sound was the independence of his hands (hands with thick, stubby fingers, typically deemed unsuitable for piano playing).
Garner would often play behind or ahead of the beat with his right hand while his springy left hand rocked steady, creating insouciance and tension in the music, which he would resolve by bringing the timing back into sync. The independence of his hands also was evidenced by his masterful use of three against four figures and more complicated cross rhythms between the hands.
What makes Garner's playing easy to recognize is his trademark introductions, which seem to make no sense until breaking dramatically into his exposition of the tune. Sometimes cacophonous and at other times strange, his intros produced a sense of excitement and anticipation and humor. One of the more important aspects of his style of improvisation was that it generally stayed close to the melodic theme and the novelty lay in voicings.
Garner bridged the gap between stride and straight-ahead styles. Often identified as a stride player, his right hand had the trappings of modernity, elements of Cole and Wilson delineations … He was one of our greatest anomalies, with hands barely reaching an octave, he came to define a medium filled with technical prowess on his own terms. His style might best be described as orchestral, as his creations often maintained the energy and diversity of an entire band.
In 1964, Garner appeared in the UK on the music series ''Jazz 625'' (625 referring to the PAL 625-line format) broadcast on the BBC's new second channel. The programme was hosted by Steve Race, who introduced Garner's trio with Eddie Calhoun on bass and Kelly Martin on drums. While working the keyboard hard, Garner had perspiration streaming down his face as the programme made close shots of his hands.
Category:1921 births Category:1977 deaths Category:American jazz composers Category:American jazz pianists Category:Blue Note Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Imperial Records artists Category:Jubilee Records artists Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Musicians from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Savoy Records artists
da:Erroll Garner de:Erroll Garner es:Erroll Garner eo:Erroll Garner fa:ارول گارنر fr:Erroll Garner it:Erroll Garner lb:Erroll Garner nl:Erroll Garner ja:エロル・ガーナー pl:Erroll Garner ru:Гарнер, Эрролл fi:Erroll Garner sv:Erroll GarnerThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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