Turin Concert

Contains three live versions of Garner’s unforgettable “Misty”.

One of the more criticized omissions of Ken Burns’ ambitious documentary on jazz was not even mentioning Erroll Garner among the most influential jazz pianists ever. The omission may not seem accidental. For many critics, Garner’s own unpretentious and happy music seemed more akin with popular piano music than with jazz. The extraordinary popularity Garner achieved during his career helped to propagate this idea, which nevertheless is thoroughly unacceptable when judging Garner’s work on a strictly musical basis.

The live performance heard here, recorded in Turin, Italy, on May 9, 1971, shows Garner in a late phase of his extended career, playing in one of his most usual formats, the classic jazz trio of piano, bass and drums plus a conga drummer. The same group is heard on a studio session recorded a few months later in New York, on December 2, 1971 (the album was titled Gemini). As a curiosity, Garner plays harpsichord on two tunes from this studio session, “When a Gipsy Makes His Violin Cry” and “Tea for Two”.