Search - Artist/Band: Erroll Garner

• Name: Erroll Garner
• Birthday: 06/15/1921
• Birth Place: Pittsburgh, PA
• Died: 01/07/1977
• Decades Active: 1940,1950,1960,1970
• Genre: Jazz
• Styles: Bop, Swing, Jazz Instrument, Piano Jazz
• Moods: Elegant, Gentle, Restrained, Sophisticated, Stylish, Carefree, Cheerful, Dramatic, Freewheeling, Playful, Refined/Mannered, Amiable/Good-Natured, Exuberant, Fun, Intimate, Laid-Back/Mellow, Passionate, Reflective, Rollicking, Romantic, Whimsical, Delicate, Smooth, Soft

Title	Release
Jazz Legends	04/15/2008
1954 WA	11/30/2007
Bouncin' with Me	06/26/2007
Humoresque 1953-1956	04/14/2007
Erroll Garner	12/20/2006
Piano Solo 1945-1955	09/25/2006
Misty [Living Era] WA	08/22/2006
1953-1954 WA	06/20/2006
Jazz Piano Masters	04/28/2006
Supreme Jazz	03/27/2006
Jazz Biography	02/07/2006
The Best of Erroll Garner	12/12/2005
1953 WA	11/15/2005
The Best of Erroll Garner: Play Piano Play	10/25/2005
The Elf [Savoy] WA	08/30/2005
Penthouse Serenade: The Debonair Erroll Garner	08/09/2005
Honeysuckle Rose	02/28/2005
Stardust	2005
Plays Ballads	12/06/2004
1952-1953: Piano Solos	11/16/2004
Lover	09/28/2004
Complete Studio Sessions	08/03/2004
BD Jazz WA	05/11/2004
1951-1952 WA	04/20/2004
1950-1957 Columbia Jazz	12/02/2003
Enjoys Rodgers & Porter	11/25/2003
1950-1951	09/23/2003
Erroll Garner's Finest Hour	04/08/2003
Impressions of Garner	02/24/2003
Ain't She Sweet?, Vol. 10	2003
I Got Rhythm, Vol. 2	2003
I Hear a Rhapsody, Vol. 1	2003
Love Walked, Vol. 7	2003
Lover Man, Vol. 6	2003
Movin' Around, Vol. 3	2003
Play, Piano, Play, Vol. 5	2003
Poor Butterfly, Vol. 9	2003
Stardust, Vol. 4	2003
Turquoise, Vol. 8	2003
Poor Butterfly, Vol. 2	12/04/2002
Poor Butterfly, Vol. 1	12/02/2002
1950	09/25/2002
Solo in New York 1944-45	09/03/2002
1949-1950 WA	05/07/2002
Jazz After Hours WA	05/07/2002
Timeless	05/07/2002
Yesterdays 1944-1949	03/19/2002
1949, Vol. 2 WA	01/08/2002
Keyboard Kapers	2002
Play Piano Play [Past Perfect]	04/17/2001
Jazz Collection	03/27/2001
1949	02/06/2001
Perdido	12/19/2000
No Ballad: 1945/1949 WA	09/12/2000
Erroll Garner [Golden Sounds]	07/18/2000
1947-1949	07/11/2000
Penthouse Serenade [TKO]	06/06/2000
Memories of You WA	11/23/1999
Blue Skies WA	10/01/1999
For You	07/27/1999
Piano Music	04/27/1999
Erroll Garner [Memoir Classics] WA	04/15/1999
Erroll Garner [Masters of Jazz] WA	03/29/1999
Erroll Garner on Dial	03/08/1999
Complete Savoy & Dial WA	1999
Play Piano Play [Drive]	1999
Complete Savoy Master Takes WA	10/06/1998
Piano Bar by Erroll Garner	10/06/1998
1946-1947 WA	08/04/1998
Pastel	08/04/1998
Trio & Solo 1945-1947	06/09/1998
Play Piano, Play [Giants of Jazz]	1998
Close-Up in Swing/A New Kind of Love	07/29/1997
1945-1946 WA	05/27/1997
1944 WA	11/19/1996
This Is Jazz, Vol. 13	09/24/1996
Now Playing: A Night at the Movies/Up in Erroll's Room	07/23/1996
Overture to Dawn	03/05/1996
Piano Perspectives	03/05/1996
1945	02/22/1996
Moon Glow	02/06/1996
Bounce with Me	01/30/1996
Historical First Recording (1944)	10/17/1995
1944, Vol. 2 WA	1995
1944, Vol. 3 WA	1995
Play Piano Play 1950-1953	1995
1944-1945 WA	12/22/1994
That's My Kick/Gemini	08/23/1994
Soliloquy at the Piano	08/19/1994
Rosetta	07/26/1994
Verve Jazz Masters 7	03/22/1994
Night and Day	1994
The Essence of Erroll Garner	1994
Classic Pianos	07/01/1991
Jazz 'Round Midnight: Erroll Garner WA	03/19/1991
Body and Soul WA	03/18/1991
The Erroll Garner Collection, Vol. 2: Dancing on the Ceiling	1989
The Erroll Garner Story	1989
Magician/Gershwin and Kern WA	1974
Easy to Love	1965
Erroll Garner Plays Gershwin and Kern	1964
Paris Impressions WA	1958
Paris Impressions, Vol. 1 WA	1958
Soliloquy	02/06/1957
Encores in Hi-Fi	1956
The Greatest Garner	1956
Afternoon of an Elf WA	03/14/1955
Solitaire WA	03/14/1955
Erroll Garner and Billy Taylor	1955
Misty	1955
Serenade to "Laura"	1955
The Original Misty WA	1955
Mambo Moves Garner	07/27/1954
Erroll Garner Collection, Vols. 4 & 5: Solo Time!	07/07/1954
Contrasts	07/1954
Too Marvelous for Words, Vol. 3	05/26/1954
Compact Jazz: Erroll Garner WA	1954
Long Ago and Far Away WA	1951
Penthouse Serenade [Savoy] WA	1949
Yesterdays	1949
Laura
Relaxin'
Solos
Somebody Loves Me
Time on My Hands

One of the most distinctive of all pianists, Erroll Garner proved that it was possible to be a sophisticated player without knowing how to read music, that a creative jazz musician can be very popular without watering down his music, and that it is possible to remain an enthusiastic player without changing one's style once it is formed. A brilliant virtuoso who sounded unlike anyone else, on medium tempo pieces, Erroll Garner often stated the beat with his left hand like a rhythm guitar while his right played chords slightly behind the beat, creating a memorable effect. His playful free-form introductions (which forced his sidemen to really listen), his ability to play stunning runs without once glancing at the keyboard, his grunting, and the pure joy that he displayed while performing were also part of the Erroll Garner magic.

Garner, whose older brother Linton was also a fine pianist, appeared on the radio with the Kan-D-Kids at the age of ten. After working locally in Pittsburgh, he moved to New York in 1944 and worked with Slam Stewart's trio during 1944-1945 before going out on his own. By 1946, Garner had his sound together, and when he backed Charlie Parker on his famous Cool Blues session of 1947, the pianist was already an obvious giant. His unclassifiable style had an orchestral approach straight from the swing era but was open to the innovations of bop. From the early '50s on, Garner's accessible style became very popular and he never seemed to have an off day up until his forced retirement (due to illness) in early 1975. His composition "Misty" became a standard. Garner, who had the ability to sit at the piano without prior planning and record three albums in one day (all colorful first takes), made many records throughout his career for such companies as Savoy, Mercury, RCA, Dial, Columbia, EmArcy, ABC-Paramount, MGM, Reprise, and his own Octave label. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide