Erroll Garner - 1947 - 1956 : The Essential Works

ERROLL GARNER
Erroll Louis Garner (1921 - 1977)

Erroll Garner was a phenomenon. Entirely self-taught, he couldn't read music and was only
three years old when he first immersed himself in the world of the piano. No matter
whether you saw him or heard him at one with the piano, the only word to describe it was
osmosis. What on earth could this phenomenon be? He could play as if totally absorbed, or
else appear to be quite absent, all the time wearing an innocent smile that made you think
he was from another world. By turns inhabited — by an irresistible swing or by some tune
so sweet it seemed drawn from the depths of unfathomable feelings — he would murmur
melodies to himself and always display the greatest happiness to be playing. Garner was the
composer of Misty (1954), and his album Concert by the Sea  (1955) was an enormous
bestseller. He is still one of the most popular jazz pianists ever, with an audience way
beyond the closed circle of jazz.