小简介
Erroll Garner 生于1921年06月15日国籍:美国. 说Garner是爵士史上最为珠圆玉润的幽雅音符应该是无庸置疑吧!左手是大乐团的跳舞韵律节奏,右手却是轻盈 洗链的喜悦声响,难怪Garner是那个年代最具商业价值的爵士乐手。Erroll Garner的特别之处是他的钢琴技巧并非科班出身, 完全是 自己摸索而来, 所以聆听他的演奏真的很不一样, 非常地奔放、轻快。
by Scott Yanow
One of the most distinctive of all pianists, Erroll Garner proved that it was possible to be a sophisticated player without knowing how to read music, that a creative jazz musician can be very popular without watering down his music, and that it is possible to remain an enthusiastic player without changing ones style once it is formed. A brilliant virtuoso who sounded unlike anyone else, Erroll Garner on medium-tempo pieces often stated the beat with his left hand like a rhythm guitar while his right played chords slightly behind the beat, creating a memorable effect. His playful free-form introductions (which forced his sidemen to really listen), his ability to play stunning runs without once glancing at the keyboard, his grunting and the pure joy that he displayed while performing were also part of the Erroll Garner magic.
Garner, whose older brother Linton is also a fine pianist, appeared on the radio with the Kan-D-Kids at the age of ten. After working locally in Pittsburgh, he moved to New York in 1944 and worked with Slam Stewarts trio during 1944-45 before going out on his own. By 1946 Garner had his sound together and when he backed Charlie Parker on his famous Cool Blues session of 1947, the pianist was already an obvious giant. His unclassifiable style had an orchestral approach straight from the swing era but was open to the innovations of bop. From the early 50s Garners accessible style became very popular and he never seemed to have an off day up until his forced retirement (due to illness) in early 1975. His composition Misty became a standard. Erroll Garner, who had the ability to sit at the piano without prior planning and record three albums in one day (all colorful first takes), made many records throughout his career for such companies as Savoy, Mercury, RCA, Dial, Columbia, EmArcy, ABC-Paramount, MGM, Reprise and his own Octave label.