Erroll Garner

At 53 years old, Erroll Garner physical status not available right now. We will update Erroll Garner's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1923-1923, 1977; some sources cite it as b. b. 1921) was an American jazz pianist and composer best known for his swing playing and ballads.

The ballad "Misty," his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard.

Scott Yanow of Allmusic describes him as "one of the most distinctive of all pianists" and a "brilliant virtuoso." At 6363 Hollywood Blvd., he was a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Personal life

Garner did not marry, but fathered Kim Garner, who is on the show for No One Can Read You Read.

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Life and career

Garner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his twin brother Ernest, on June 15, 1921, the youngest of six children. He attended George Westinghouse High School (as did fellow pianist Billy Strayhorn and Ahmad Jamal). In Erroll Garner's The Most Happy Piano, his family, music teachers, other musicians, and a detailed family tree can be found.

Garner began playing piano at the age of three. A "Miss Bowman" taught piano to his elder siblings. Erroll would sit down and perform anything she had seen from an early age, "much like Miss Bowman," his eldest sister Martha said. Garner was self-taught and remained a "ear player" throughout his life, never learning to read music. He first appeared on the radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh at the age of seven, as part of a group called the Candy Kids. He was riding on Allegheny riverboats by age 11, and by age 11, he was racing them. He joined Leroy Brown, the local saxophonist, in 1937.

Linton Garner, Linton Garner's older pianist brother, starred locally in the shadow.

Garner immigrated to New York City in 1944. He briefly worked with bassist Slam Stewart but not a bebop musician per se, and appeared on the "Cool Blues" session with Charlie Parker in 1947. Despite the fact that his admission to the Pittsburgh music union was initially refused due to his inability to read music, the union revived in 1956 and named him an honorary member. Garner is credited with a superb musical memory. Garner returned to his apartment and was able to perform a large portion of the repertoire by memory recall after attending a concert by Russian classical pianist Emil Gilels.

After Columbia Records released several recordings without Garner's permission, Garner sued Columbia Records in 1960 for breach of contract. Garner had signed a five-year contract with Columbia in 1956, which contained an unprecedented provision (which was negotiated with the support of manager Martha Glaser) allowing Garner the right to prohibit the release of any of his recorded music. The New York State Supreme Court ruled in Garner's favour in a significant decision regarding artist rights, after three years of litigation, during which Columbia continued to publish Garner recordings against his will, and Columbia paid Garner a significant settlement and recalled all of the illegal recordings from its retailers.

Martha Glaser's Garner was in charge of Garner from 1950 to 1977, with a stretch of this time as her sole client.

Garner died of cardiac arrest related to emphysema on January 2, 1977. He is buried in Homewood Cemetery, Pittsburgh.

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