Erroll Garner - Compact Jazz (1954) [1987]

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Erroll Garner - Compact Jazz (1954) [1987]

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This early CD (1987) is hard to find, but if you see it at a price you can afford, it's a good value. You get a full hour of Garner's 1954-55 performances on the Mercury label. The 14 tracks present him solo, in a trio and as part of a quartet. His most famous composition, " Misty ", leads it off in his first recording of it, from 1954. The remaining 13 are all standards, presented Erroll's way, which is unusual. He often makes one piano sound like two, often strikes the higher notes firmly and fast. One expects every jazz pianist to have a distinct style, and Erroll does. His best-selling album, " Concert by the Sea " on Columbia, came a year or more later than these performances, and is also worth owning. Only one tune on the disc really surprised me, but I like what he does with it: " You Are My Sunshine ", the country standard from the 1940's. In Erroll's hands, the basic melody is twisted and stretched into something quite different than I expected. Garner was more popular than Thelonious Monk or Dave Brubeck in the '50's. While I like the other two dudes better, he will always be loved for composing " Misty " and for giving his audiences a good time. ~ William E. Adams