1947-1956: The Essential Works

Erroll Garner was a phenomenon. Entirely self-taught, he couldn't read music and was only three years old when he first immersed himself in the world of the piano. No matter whether you saw him or heard him at one with the piano, the only word to describe it was osmosis. What on earth could this phenomenon be? He could play as if totally absorbed, or else appear to be quite absent, all the time wearing an innocent smile that made you think he was from another world. By turns inhabited ? by an irresistible swing or by some tune so sweet it seemed drawn from the depths of unfathomable feelings ? he would murmur melodies to himself and always display the greatest happiness to be playing. Garner was the composer of Misty (1954), and his album Concert by the Sea (1955) was an enormous bestseller. He is still one of the most popular jazz pianists ever, with an audience way beyond the closed circle of jazz.