Known as “Mr. Behind the Beat” for the way his right-hand melodies lag ever so slightly behind the powerful rhythm of his left hand, Erroll Garner passed away on this day in 1977 at the age of 55.
To remember him, I turn to what is perhaps the most famous album in his catalog: the trio recording from 1954, Contrasts. (Garner was known to dislike performing with large ensembles such as big bands.) The album includes his signature piece, Misty. It is said that he came up with the melody to “Misty” while on an airplane. As he was unable to read or write musical notation throughout his life, he reportedly rushed to the piano as soon as he arrived home and recorded the tune on tape before it could slip away. The opening track, You Are My Sunshine—a melody almost everyone has heard at least once—was recently sampled by the Dutch hip-hop group Arts The Beatdoctor on their track The Anthem.
And on a personal note, I find the album’s jacket design particularly outstanding. The balance between Garner’s monochrome photograph and its overlay, the delicate typography of “erroll garner,” and the bold gothic lettering of “CONTRASTS,” along with the color scheme and overall composition, are simply superb.
左手の強力なリズムに僅かに遅れる右手のメロディーが特徴の"Mr. ビハインド・ザ・ビート"こと
エロル・ガーナー。77年の本日に亡くなりました。享年55歳。
故人を偲ぶ一枚は、彼の諸作で最も有名なアルバムであろうトリオ編成による(彼はビッグ・バンドのような大人数での演奏を嫌っていた)54年の録音で、彼の代名詞的ナンバーである「ミスティ－」を収録したアルバム「コントラスツ」
