Erroll Garner
Erroll Garner | |
|---|---|
Garner c. 1947 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Erroll Louis Garner |
| Born | June 15, 1921 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | January 2, 1977 (aged 55) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Piano |
| Years active | 1944–1974 |
| Labels | |
Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad "Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first recorded in 1956 with Mitch Miller and his orchestra, and played a prominent part in the 1971 motion picture Play Misty for Me.
Scott Yanow of Allmusic calls him "one of the most distinctive of all pianists" and a "brilliant virtuoso". Garner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6363 Hollywood Boulevard. His live album Concert by the Sea first released in 1955, sold more than 1 million copies by 1958, and Yanow's opinion on the album is that it "made such a strong impression that Garner was considered immortal from then on."