Erroll Garner

Erroll Garner

Biography

Erroll Garner (15 June 1923 (some sources say 1921), Pittsburgh, Penn. – 2 January 1977, Los Angeles, Calif.) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads.

Erroll began playing piano at the age of three. From an early age Erroll would sit down and play anything his teacher demonstrated, his eldest sister Martha said. 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. At the age of seven, he began appearing on the radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh with a group called the Candy Kids. By the age of 11, he was playing on the Allegheny riverboats. At 14 in 1937, he joined local saxophonist Leroy Brown.

He played locally in the shadow of his older pianist brother Linton Garner and moved to New York City 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 "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 ft 2 in), Garner performed sitting on multiple telephone directories. He was also known for his 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.

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 Carson's favorite jazz musician, appearing on Carson's show many times over the years.

Works for Winds

• Misty (arr. Mathews) (1954)

Resources

• Erroll Garner, Wikipedia – Accessed 2 July 2016
• Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Erroll Garner." Accessed 2 July 2016.