Biography

We are preparing a thorough biography for this space. Until it is ready, please refer to the materials below for historical context.

Biographical Memorabilia

• NEW!Article by Mike Hennessey on Erroll Garner's music and legacy
• Annotated photo of Erroll with Sarah Vaughn and Mitch Miller
• Interview of George Shearing on Erroll Garner by Tim Clausen
• Interview of Dudley Moore on Erroll Garner by Howard Nichols
• Open letter from Martha Glaser to Ken Burns regarding Erroll Garner
• Jazz writer and broadcaster James Isaacs on Erroll Garner
• Dudley Moore on Erroll Garner
• Fast Company, a ballet featuring the music of Erroll Garner
• Special Feature on The Anniversary of Concert By The Sea
• Trivia: Erroll Garner has had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame since 1960.
• Ed Bradley talks about Erroll Garner
• Erroll Garner Remembered, a poem by Lu Angelieri
• Happy Birthday Erroll Garner from Congressional Record, June 15, 1976
• Slam Stewart remembers Erroll Garner
• Garner Is Now Up There... by Ralph J. Gleason from the San Francisco Chronicle, June, 1958
• Easy to Love, from People Weekly magazine

Quotes

I always play what I feel. I always feel like me, but I'm a different me every day. I get ideas from everything. A big color, the sound of water and wind, or a flash of something cool. Playing is like life. Either you feel it or you don't.
-- ERROLL GARNER

Erroll Garner was a giant among jazz pianists. His ability to spontaneously create great musical works at the piano while performing for an audience was legendan/Inherent in that unique talent was his ability to make a personal musical statement that was as well constructed and logically organized as it would have been if he had preconceived it and planned every detail, In other words, Garner was a first rate composer who used musical theory and form in traditional ways, yet was inventive enough to create music instantly which contained all the elements of good composition. His music is melodic, rhythmic, rhapsodic, and original. As a musician he was one of a kind
-- Billy Taylor

The extraordinary thing about Erroll Garner and his ballads is that they are completely lyrical. They are incredibly durable, lasting, melodic and beautiful word pictures, no matter who does the singing. I'll never forget that it was Sarah Vaughan with that amazing pipe organ voice of hers that first introduced me to Erroll's ballads, and that introduction turned into a life-long love affair I've had with this man's music--a man who has left his indelible mark on the world of music.
-- Johnny Mathis

...Garner is the single most important piano stylist of the past 35 years .,.Most every piano player who has heard Erroll Garner owes him something... Garner epitomizes all that makes jazz the great music of our age... He is a natural... His music communicates to those who know nothing of the meaning of the word jazz. His music is serious, yet joyous, He has developed an individuality of style that has blessed only the greatest exponents of music... To put it simply, Erroll Garner is a great musical genius. He has given me some of the most memorable and musical moments of my life.
-- George Wein

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