Erroll Garner was a self-taught jazz composer who wrote more than two hundred original compositions over a career spanning four decades. Unable to read music, he played and composed entirely by ear, developing a distinctive harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary. His most enduring composition, Misty, written in 1954, became one of the most widely recorded jazz standards in history and inspired the 1971 film Play Misty for Me. The piece earned induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Beyond Misty, Garner achieved significant commercial success, beginning with his 1946 recording of "Laura" on the Savoy label. His 1955 live album Concert by the Sea became one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time. Garner's compositional approach emphasized spontaneity and melodic invention, and his prolific output continued until his death in 1977.
