{"title":"Erroll Garner","description":"\u003cp\u003eErroll Garner learned to play piano by following his older brother Linton, starting at three, and never took a formal lesson in his life, never learned to read music, and composed one of the most performed songs of the twentieth century in a style that was entirely, unmistakably his own. He grew up in Pittsburgh's Hill District alongside Billy Strayhorn and Ahmad Jamal at George Westinghouse High School, was playing on local radio at seven with a group called the Candy Kids, on the Allegheny riverboats at eleven, and in New York by 1944. He worked briefly with bassist Slam Stewart, sat in for Art Tatum on occasion, and played on Charlie Parker's \"Cool Blues\" session at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles in 1947. What emerged from that New York apprenticeship was a style that sounded like no one else in jazz: the left hand strumming behind the beat like a rhythm guitar while the right hand played melodies lagging just behind it, creating a rolling, irresistibly swinging tension. He composed \"Misty\" in 1954 and \"Concert by the Sea\", recorded live in Carmel-by-the-Sea that September and released on Columbia the following year, became one of the best-selling jazz albums ever made, selling over 225,000 copies in its first year. ASCAP later listed \"Misty\" among the twenty most performed songs of the entire twentieth century. Garner recorded prolifically across Mercury, Columbia, Verve, Savoy and dozens of other labels, appeared on the Ed Sullivan, Dick Cavett and Johnny Carson shows, and performed for Sol Hurok, the only jazz musician the classical impresario ever presented. He died on 2 January 1977 in Los Angeles, aged 55.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"erroll-garner-concert-by-the-sea-1979-japanese-cbs-sony-vinyl-lp-mono","title":"Erroll Garner - Concert By The Sea (1979 Japanese CBS\/Sony Vinyl LP Mono)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eErroll Garner - \u003cem\u003eConcert By The Sea\u003c\/em\u003e | Vinyl LP Mono - 1979 Japanese CBS\/Sony Reissue (20AP 1470)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGarner couldn't read music. He learned piano by ear at the age of three in Pittsburgh, replicating everything his teacher played, and he never lost that reliance on his ear and his memory. What emerged was one of the most instantly recognisable styles in jazz: the left hand strumming chords like a rhythm guitar while the right hand played melodies that lagged behind the beat, creating a rolling, swinging tension that was entirely his own. He was 5'4\" (Art Tatum called him \"The Little Man\") and he played with a joy that communicated immediately to audiences. By September 1955 he had recorded his signature composition \"Misty\" and signed with Columbia. The Carmel concert was, on paper, just another gig, an off-night from a San Francisco nightclub engagement, paying $650. His bassist borrowed an instrument from a local military post rather than hauling his own. Nobody from Columbia bothered to travel down for the show. But the performance the trio gave that evening, refreshed by the drive down the Pacific Coast Highway and lifted by a receptive audience, turned out to be one for the ages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"I'll Remember April\" opens the album at a bright, rolling tempo that shows Garner's rhythmic approach immediately. \"Autumn Leaves\" is the most famous track, Garner taking the standard through one of his characteristic out-of-tempo introductions before the trio locks into a swinging groove. \"It's All Right With Me\" and \"They Can't Take That Away From Me\" demonstrate his command of the Great American Songbook. \"Where Or When\" and \"April in Paris\" are the ballads. Throughout, Calhoun and Best provide unobtrusive support, keeping the rhythm steady while Garner does what he does. The album sold over 225,000 copies in its first year and reportedly brought Columbia a million dollars by 1958, extraordinary figures for a jazz record and among the best-selling in the music's history. It became the album that introduced countless listeners to jazz piano.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the 1979 Japanese mono reissue on CBS\/Sony 20AP 1470, from the CBS Favorite Jazz 100 series, manufactured by CBS\/Sony Inc., with cap obi and insert and a red CBS\/Sony label.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CBS","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43785200894011,"sku":null,"price":40.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/IMG_7718.jpg?v=1784007896"}],"url":"https:\/\/lushliferecords.com.au\/collections\/erroll-garner.oembed","provider":"Lush Life Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}