Pittsburgh JazzLive pays tribute to Pittsburghs native son Erroll Garner on his birthday..He was only 52 and had to sit on top of telephone books to reach the piano, but he was a giant in jazz. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1923, Erroll began playing piano at the age of three. He attended George Westinghouse High School, as did fellow pianists Billy Strayhorn and Ahmad Jamal. Garner was self-taught and remained an ear player all his life – he never learned to read music. 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. Garner made many tours both at home and abroad, and produced a large volume of recorded work. He was, reportedly, The Tonight Show host Johnny Carsons favorite jazz musician, appearing on Carsons show many times over the years. He is referred to 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. Garners ear and technique owed as much to practice as to a natural gift. His distinctive style could swing like no other, but some of his best recordings are ballads, such as his best-known composition, Misty. Misty rapidly became a jazz standard – and was famously featured in Clint Eastwoods film Play Misty for Me (1971).
Posted on: Sun, 15 Jun 2014 15:00:01 +0000
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