Erroll Louis Garner (1921-1977) was one of the greatest and most popular pianists in jazz history. At three years of age, being the youngest of six very musical siblings, he was able to play everything by ear, that the family's piano teacher presented to him. Reading sheet music, on the other hand, was of no interest to Garner, who had a phenomenal musical memory. When asked about this, he once said: "You can't hear me reading."
Garner belongs to a line of pianists in jazz history who, with their virtuosity and musicality, were able to conquer a worldwide audience, that reached far beyond the specialist circles, among them were also Earl Hines, Fats Waller, Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson.
Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a city with a rich piano tradition with talents like Billy Strayhorn and Ahmad Jamal, he soon became a local child star and began performing on the radio. In 1944 he moved to New York and made his first recordings with Slam Stewart, Don Byas and Charlie Parker. At this time he also made his first solo recordings, which were released under the title „Overture to Dawn“. With his album „Concert By The Sea“, which was recorded in 1955, he finally reached an audience of millions. He made recordings in quick succession with his trios and as a soloist, and a rich selection of his most successful works is collected here. The orchestral album „Other Voices“ being a rare exception.
After his death at the age of 55, interest in Garner's music faded. Only his most famous composition „Misty“ became a jazz standard. From the 1970s onwards, pianists such as Herbie Hancock, Cecil Taylor and Keith Jarrett dominated the scene. The Jamaican Monty Alexander was the only one carrying on the swinging legacy of Peterson and Garner. In the last years of her life, the extraordinary pianist Geri Allen (1957-2017) campaigned for Garner's musical legacy, and several of Garner's records have since been re-released. With her student Christian Sands (born in 1989), a musician is currently in the center of worldwide attention, who fills this important tradition of the mainstream jazz piano virtuoso with new life and new impulses.
Tracklist
CD 1
■ CONCERT BY THE SEA
1. I'll Remember April 4.20
(Gene de Paul, Patricia Johnston,
Don Rave)
2. Teach Me Tonight 3.43
(Sammy Cahn, Gene dePaul)
3. Mambo Carmel 3.53
(Erroll Garner)
4. Autumn Leaves 6.31
(Joseph Kosma, Jacques Prévert,
Johnny Mercer)
5. It's All Right with Me 3.30
(Cole Porter)
6. Red Top 3.22
(Lionel Hampton, Ben Kynard)
7. April in Paris 4.55
(Vernon Duke, Yip Harburg)
8. They Can't Take That Away 4.15
from Me
(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)
9. How Could You do a Thing 4.13
Like That to Me
(Tyree Glenn, Allan Roberts)
10. Where or When 3.11
(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)
11. Erroll's Theme 1.45
(Erroll Garner)
Erroll Garner (p) Eddie Calhoun (b)
Denzil Best (drs)
Recorded at Sunset School,
Carmel-by-the-Sea,
CA, on September 19, 1955
■ ERROLL GARNER PLAYS MISTY
12. Misty (Erroll Garner) 2.48
13. Exactly Like You 3.13
(Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields)
14. You Are My Sunshine 3.27
(Charles Mitchell, Jimmie Davis)
15. What Is This Thing Called Love 2.56
(Cole Porter)
16. Frantonality (Erroll Garner) 2.56
17. Again 2.35
(Dorcas Cochran, Lionel Newman)
18. Where Or When 2.52
(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)
19. Love In Bloom 5.27
(Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger)
20. Through a Long and 2.58
Sleepless Night
(Alfred Newman, Mack Gordon)
21. That Old Feeling 5.18
(Lew Brown, Sammy Fain)
Erroll Garner (p)
Recorded in NYC on February 27,
1954 (12-14), May 5,
1955 (15, 17, 20),
April 9, 1946 (16),
July 26, 1946 (18)
and March 14, 1955 (19, 21)
Total Time 78.33
CD 2
■ PENTHOUSE SERENADE
1. Indiana 2.39
(Ballard MacDonald, James F. Hanley)
2. Love Walked In 3.04
(George & Ira Gershwin)
3. Body and Soul 3.04
(Edward Heyman, Frank Eyton,
Johnny Green, Robert Sour)
4. Penthouse Serenade 3.06
(Val Burton, Will Jason)
5. Stompin' at the Savoy 3.11
(Benny Goodman, Chick Webb,
Edgar Sampson)
6. Stardust 2.51
(Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish)
7. More Than You Know 2.50
(Billy Rose, Edward Eliscu,
Vincent Youmans)
8. Over the Rainbow 3.02
(E.Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen)
Erroll Garner (p)
John Levy (b: 1, 6)
John Simmons (b: 2 to 5, 7, 8)
George De Hart (drs: 1, 6)
Alvin Stoller (drs: 2 to 5, 7, 8)
Recorded on September 25, 1945
(1, 6) and March 29, 1949 (2 to 5, 7, 8)
■ SOLILOQUY
9. You'd Be so Nice to Come 6.21
Home To (Cole Porter)
10. No More Time (Erroll Garner) 6.32
11. I Surrender, Dear 6.50
(Gordon Clifford, Harry Barris)
12. If I Had You 4.27
(James Campbell, Reginald Connelly)
13. Don't Take Your Love from Me 7.37
(Henry Nemo)
14. Soliloquy (Erroll Garner) 6.01
Erroll Garner (p)
Recorded in New York City
on February 6, 1957
Total Time 61.55
CD 3
■ MAMBO MOVES GARNER
1. Mambo Garner 6.31
(Erroll Garner)
2. Night and Day 4.04
(Cole Porter)
3. Mambo Blues 4.53
(Erroll Garner)
4. That Old Black Magic 5.21
(Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer)
5. Cherokee 3.52
(Ray Noble)
6. Russian Lullaby 3.24
(Irving Berlin)
7. Begin the Beguine 4.40
(Cole Porter)
8. Mambo Nights 4.09
(Erroll Garner)
9. Sweet Sue 7.31
(Victor Young, Will J. Harris)
Errol Garner (p)
Wyatt Ruther (b)
Eugene Heard (drs)
Candido (congas)
Recorded in Chicago, IL,
on July 27, 1954
■ ERROLL GARNER PLAYING
PIANO SOLOS
10. Undecided 2.42
(Charlie Shavers)
11. Red Sails in the Sunset 2.43
(Hugh Williams, Jimmy Kennedy)
12. I Can't Believe That You're 2.36
in Love with Me
(Jimmy McHugh, Clarence Gaskill)
13. Stompin' at the Savoy 3.07
(Benny Goodman, Chick Webb,
Edgar Sampson)
14. I Only Have Eyes for You 2.59
(Harry Warren, Al Dubin)
15. September Song 3.05
(Kurt Weill)
16. Yesterdays 2.42
(Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach)
17. All the Things You Are 3.40
(Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II)
Erroll Garner (p)
Released in 1950
Total Time 68.37
CD 4
■ SOLITAIRE
1. I'll Never Smile Again 5.35
(Ruth Lowe)
2. Then You've Never 6.15
Been Blue
(Joe Young , Sam M. Lewis,
Ted Fio Rito)
3. It's the Talk of the Town 6.03
(Al J. Neiburg, Jerry Livingston,
Marty Symes)
4. Solitaire 6.31
(Erroll Garner, Steve Allen)
5. A Cottage for Sale 6.25
(Larry Conley, Willard Robison)
6. That Old Feeling 5.22
(Lew Brown, Sammy Fain)
7. Over the Rainbow 9.31
(E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Harold Arlen)
Errol Garner (p)
Recorded in New York City
on March 14, 1955
Total Time 45.45
CD 5
■ THE GREATEST GARNER
1. The Way You Look Tonight 3.15
(Jerome Kern)
2. Turquoise (Erroll Garner) 2.54
3. Pavanne (Maurice Ravel) 3.15
4. Impressions (Erroll Garner) 3.16
5. Confessin 2.59
(Al Neiburg, Doc Dougherty,
Ellis Reynolds)
6. I May Be Wrong 2.57
(Harry Ruskin, Henry Sullivan)
7. Skylark 3.13
(Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer)
8. Summertime 3.18
(DuBose Heyward, George Gershwin)
9. Flamingo 3.01
(Edmund Anderson, Theodor Grouya)
10. Reverie (Claude Debussy) 3.01
11. Blue and Sentimental 3.01
(Count Basie, Jerry Livingston,
Mack David)
12. I Can't Give You Anything 3.08
but Love
(Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields)
Erroll Garner (p)
John Simmons (b: 5, 6, 8)
Leonard Gaskin (b: 1 to 4, 7, 10 to 12)
Charlie Smith (drs: 1 to 4, 7, 10 to 12)
Harold Wing (drs: 5, 6, 8 )
Recorded in New York City,
July 1949 - April 1950
■ THE MOST HAPPY PIANO
13. Girl of My Dreams 4.27
(Charles Clapp)
14. But Not for Me 3.35
(Ira & George Gershwin)
15. Passing Though 3.09
(Erroll Garner)
16. Time on My Hands 4.18
(Harold Adamson, Mack Gordon,
Vincent Youmans)
17. Alexander's Ragtime Band 3.40
(Irving Berlin)
18. Full Moon and Empty Arms 4.19
(Buddy Kaye, Ted Mossman)
19. Mambo 207 4.15
(Erroll Garner)
20. The Way Back Blues 6.11
(Erroll Garner)
21. Ol' Man River 5.56
(Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern)
Erroll Garner (p)
Al Hall (b) Specs Powell (drs)
Recorded in New York City in 1957
Total Time 77.33
CD 6
■ ENCORES IN HI-FI
1. Moonglow 5.31
(Eddie DeLange, Irving Mills,
Will Hudson)
2. Sophisticated Lady 2.53
(Edward Duke Ellington, I. Mills
Mitchell Parish)
3. Robbins Nest 3.22
(Illinois Jacquet, Sir Charles Thompson)
4. Creme De Menthe 4.43
(Erroll Garner)
5. Humoresque 5.12
(Antonin Dvorak)
6. How High The Moon 3.29
(Morgan Lewis, Nancy Hamilton)
7. Fancy 4.28
(Erroll Garner)
8. Groovy-Day 3.43
(Erroll Garner)
9. The Man I Love 8.10
(Ira & George Gershwin)
Erroll Garner (p)
Al Hall (b: 1, 4, 5, 9)
John Simmons (b: 2, 3, 6)
Wyatt Ruther (b: 8)
Fats Heard (drs: 8)
Shadow Wilson (drs: 2, 3, 6)
Specs (Gordon) Powell (drs: 1, 4, 5, 9)
Recorded in New York City in 1958
■ AFTERNOON OF AN ELF
10. Afternoon of an Elf 5.55
(Erroll Garner)
11. Don't Be That Way 6.24
(Benny Goodman, Edgar Sampson,
Mitchell Parish)
12. St. James Infirmary 6.09
(Joe Primrose)
13. A Smooth One 4.27
(Benny Goodman)
14. Is You Is Or Is You 4.00
Ain't My Baby
(Billy Austin, Louis Jordan)
15. All My Loves Are You 5.03
(Erroll Garner)
16. Fandango 5.03
(Erroll Garner)
Erroll Garner (p)
Recorded in New York City
on March 14, 1955
Total Time 78.55
600589_
CD 7
■ CONTRASTS
1. You Are My Sunshine 3.26
(Jimmie Davis, Charles Mitchell)
2. I've Got the World on a String 3.59
(Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler)
3. 7-11 Jump 7.16
(Erroll Garner)
4. Part Time Blues 4.31
(Garner)
5. Rosalie 2.36
(Cole Porter)
6. In a Mellow Tone 4.17
(Duke Ellington, Milt Gabler)
7. Don't Worry 'Bout Me 5.02
(Rube Bloom, Ted Koehler)
8. (All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings 3.20
(Jean Marie Blanvillain, Henri Herpin,
Harold Rome)
9. There's a Small Hotel 3.09
(Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers)
10. Misty 2.47
(Garner)
11. I've Got to Be a Rug Cutter 2.20
(Duke Ellington)
Erroll Garner (p)
Wyatt Ruther (b)
Fats Heard (drs)
Candido Camero (perc)
Recorded in Chicago,
IL on July 27, 1954
■ OTHER VOICES
12. Misty 3.16
(Erroll Garner)
13. The Very Thought of You 3.26
(Ray Noble)
14. It Might as Well Be Spring 4.34
(Oscar Hammerstein II,
Richard Rodgers)
15. Dreamy 3.04
(Erroll Garner)
16. I Didn't Know What Time 3.34
It Was
(Lorenz Hart, Rodgers)
17. Moment's Delight 3.17
(Erroll Garner)
18. On the Street Where You Live 3.03
(A.J. Lerner - Frank Loewe)
19. Other Voices 2.57
(Erroll Garner)
20. This Is Always 4.13
(Harry Warren, Mack Gordon)
21. Solitaire 2.47
(Erroll Garner)
Erroll Garner (p, arr)
Nat Pierce (arr)
Mitch Miller (conductor)
Recorded at Columbia East
30th Street Studio, New York City,
on May 31, 1957
Total Time 77.24
CD 8
■ PARIS IMPRESSIONS VOL. 1
1. The Song from Moulin Rouge 3.30
(George Auric)
2. I Love Paris 5.04
(Cole Porter)
3. French Doll 5.48
(Erroll Garner)
4. Don't Look for Me 8.01
(Erroll Garner)
5. Louise 4.08
(Maurice Chevalier)
6. Farewell to Paris 7.18
(Erroll Garner)
7. Left Bank Swing 5.41
(Erroll Garner)
8. Côte D'Azur 5.21
(Erroll Garner)
Erroll Garner (p, harpsichord)
Edward Calhoun (b)
Kelly Martin (drs)
Recorded in New York City
on March 27 and in April 1958
■ OVERTURE TO DAWN 2
9. Autumn Mood 7.25
(Erroll Garner)
10. Erroll's Concerto 5.36
(Erroll Garner)
11. Floating on a Cloud 10.12
(Erroll Garner)
12. I Surrender Dear 2.25
(Gordon Clifford, Harry Baris)
Erroll Garner (p)
Recorded at Timme Rosenkrantz
apartment, NYC, November 18,
1944 (11), November 22, 1944 (9),
December 10-12, 1944 (10)
and December 14, 1944 (12)
Total Time 70.54
CD 9
■ PARIS IMPRESSIONS VOL. 2
1. La Vie En Rose 4.16
(Louiguy, Marguerite Manot,
Edith Piaf )
2. Paris Midnight 8.47
(Erroll Garner)
3. The French Touch 6.00
(Erroll Garner)
4. Paris Bounce 4.25
(Erroll Garner)
5. Paris Blues 3.14
(Erroll Garner)
6. My Man 6.04
(Maurice Yvain, Albert Willemetz,
Jacques-Charles)
7. La Petite Mambo 4.37
(Erroll Garner)
8. The Last Time I Saw Paris 5.35
(Jerome Kern)
9. When Paris Cries 5.06
(Erroll Garner)
10. Moroccan Quarter 4.26
(Erroll Garner)
Erroll Garner (p, harpsichord)
Edward Calhoun (b)
Kelly Martin (drs)
Recorded in New York City
on March 27 and in April 1958
■ OVERTURE TO DAWN 1
11. I Hear a Rhapsody 8.11
(Dick Gasparre, George Fragos,
Jack Baker)
12. You Were Born to Be Kissed 5.15
(Erroll Garner)
13. Overture to Dawn 8.53
(Erroll Garner)
Erroll Garner (p)
Recorded at Timme Rosenkrantz
apartment, NYC, December 14,
1944 (11, 12) and December 10-12,
1944 (13)
Total Time 75.18
CD 10
■ DREAM STREET
1. Just One of Those Things 3.32
(Cole Porter)
2. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You 5.26
(George Bassman, Ned Washington)
3. Blue Lou 5.02
(Edgar Sampson, Irving Mills)
4. Come Rain or Come Shine 4.36
(Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer)
5. The Lady Is a Tramp 3.37
(Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers)
6. When You're Smiling 3.53
(Joe Goodwin, Larry Shay,
Mark Fisher)
7. Sweet Lorraine 3.28
(Cliff Burwell, Mitchell Parish)
8. Dreamstreet 3.20
(Erroll Garner)
9. Mambo Gotham 3.30
(Erroll Garner)
10. Oklahoma! Medley: 8.54
(Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II)
10a Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'
10b People Will Say We're in Love
10c Surrey with the Fringe on Top
Erroll Garner (p)
Edward Calhoun (b)
Kelly Martin (drs)
Recorded in New York City
on December 15, 17 and 18, 1959
Total Time 45.38
Details
Genre: Jazz
Set content: 10
EAN: 4053796005892