Erroll Garner was famous for more than his unique piano style. Record producers and studio engineers knew that once he sat down at the piano they could rely on a confident delivery without hesitation and a minimum of retakes. In a three-hour session Garner could, literally, provide 150 minutes of superb music, ready to be transferred to vinyl and shipped out to eager fans. His style, with that vamping left hand, owed much to a self-taught player but demonstrated just how well his natural talent took him into the top echelon of jazz pianists. Emulated by many but surpassed by none his devotees included Dudley Moore who often threw in that left hand with great strength. George Shearing parodied Garner at many a live concert always gaining loud applause when he swung into a replica piece.
However, Garner was much more than that hypnotic left-hand beat. A two-handed pianist, his delight in rhapsodic introductions can often be heard. On the album “Solo Flight”, he stretches out into modernistic neo classical sounds. Nevertheless, at the core of his playing was always an infectious swing and appreciation for standards. Once he played and recorded with Parker, but soon became recognised as a solo artist in his own right. Then came scores of recordings limited to the old 78 r.p.m length of up to 3 minutes or so. The advent of microgroove gave him the opportunity to record extended pieces and to prove that his style and creativity was not to be bettered by anyone. These days he seems to be ignored by most jazz DJs. This is a pity as Garner’s was that rare talent, an individual and instantly identifiable piano style.
This album, “Romantic and Swinging”, offers the chance to hear an early-to-middle period Garner with some short tracks and one or two longer pieces. There's a nice version of St James Infirmary" and one of the early renditions of his own composition,"Misty". Issued on Music For Pleasure, these selections are not generally found on his currently available CD albums.
This is a mono vinyl which I have fully mixed and processed using Cool Edit. ~ Keith Horner
Thanks Keith!
Side 1:
01) That Old Feeling
02) Lady Be Good
03) Exactly Like You
04) I'll Never Smile Again
05) Love In Bloom
Side 2:
01) Solitaire
02) All Of A Sudden My Heart Sings
03) Misty
04) You Are My Sunshine
05) St James Infirmary
1 comments:
many thanks!
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