Erroll Garner
Piano
About
Erroll Garner was a self-taught jazz pianist who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed jazz artists of the twentieth century. Unable to read or write music, he developed a wholly original piano style characterized by orchestral voicings, his signature "gas pedaling" right-hand delay technique, and elaborate improvised introductions. He composed "Misty" (1954), which became one of the most recorded jazz standards in history. His landmark 1955 live album Concert by the Sea, recorded by chance at a small California auditorium, sold over one million copies and is regarded as one of the finest jazz recordings ever made. Garner recorded with Charlie Parker, performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, and became the first jazz artist booked by impresario Sol Hurok. His pioneering lawsuit against Columbia Records made him the first musician to successfully sue a major label for unauthorized releases, establishing groundbreaking precedents for artist rights.
Trivia
Garner stood five feet two inches tall and famously sat on a stack of telephone books atop his piano bench to reach the keys comfortably. He never told his sidemen what tune he would play next; his printed concert programs listed no repertoire, forcing bassist Eddie Calhoun and drummer Kelly Martin to listen intently and pick up cues in real time. In 2024, "Misty" became the oldest song ever to appear on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart, featured in over two million videos.
Early Life
Erroll Louis Garner was born on June 15, 1921, in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the youngest of six children and twin brother of Ernest. He grew up in a musical household where his father performed as a musician and his mother sang in church. His older siblings took formal piano lessons from a teacher called Miss Bowman, and without any instruction, Erroll began playing at age three, reproducing what he heard taught to his siblings. A teacher later attempted formal lessons but gave up upon discovering the boy was memorizing by ear rather than learning to read notation. By seven, he was performing on Pittsburgh radio station KDKA with a group called the Candy Kids, and at eleven he played on the Allegheny riverboats. He attended George Westinghouse High School, later known for producing Billy Strayhorn and Ahmad Jamal, and by fifteen had memorized roughly one thousand tunes.
Erroll Garner Solos
1947
Piano solo - This Is Always - 1947
4/4 ballad in E♭ major at 71 BPM
Piano solo - Dark Shadows - 1947
4/4 swing in E♭ major at 93 BPM
Piano solo - Bird's Nest - 1947
4/4 swing in B♭ major at 299 BPM
Piano solo - Cool Blues - 1947
4/4 swing in C major at 163 BPM