53 minutes, documentary, color, English, 2012
DVD packaged in a certified Green Forestry eco pack

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In a triumphant career that lasted forty years Erroll Garner pushed the playability of the piano to its limits, developed an international reputation, and made an indelible mark on the jazz world. And yet, his story has never been told. Until now.

Atticus Brady's new film uses an astonishing array of archival materials interwoven with interviews with friends, family, and fellow musicians, and features commentary from Woody Allen; Ahmad Jamal; Tonight Show host Steve Allen; Erroll's sister, Ruth Garner Moore; pianist and arranger Dick Hyman; Columbia Records executive George Avakian; Erroll's bass player Ernest McCarty; Erroll's biographer Jim Doran; jazz journalist John Murph; dancer/choreographer Maurice Hines; and Erroll's daughter Kim Garner, who goes on the record about her father for the first time.

The film explores Erroll's childhood in Pittsburgh; his meteoric rise in popularity while playing on 52nd street, New York's famed jazz epicenter; the origins of his most famous album (Concert By The Sea) and his most famous composition (Misty); his singular, virtuosic piano style; and his dynamic personality, both on and off the stage.

"If you don't recognize the name ‘Erroll Garner’ then we know two things about you: (1) You know nothing about the piano, and (2) you probably listen to music on your phone. For the rest of us, Garner spent 40 years exploring the piano, an instrument stifled by centuries of German classical traditions, turning it into an expressive tool for the masses. His freewheeling jazz found expression on the keyboard in ways that no other performer had ever dreamed of, profoundly enriching our generation's music and inspiring countless performers around the world. This doc explores his living legacy with great live performances." - Video Tapeworm

"Rich in fruits from the archival vaults. I’ve always counted Fats Domino and Thelonious Monk as the two pianists most fun simply to watch play, but Erroll Garner belongs on the list as well." - Mike Clark, Home Media Magazine

"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 legendary. His music is melodic, rhythmic, rhapsodic, and original. As a musician he was one of a kind."
- Billy Taylor, Jazz Pianist & Composer

"Garner is the single most important piano stylist of the past 35 years. He epitomizes all that makes jazz the great music of our age. To put it simply, Erroll Garner is a great musical genius." - George Wein, Jazz Impresario

"The complete musician is what he was. He could make you cry and make you laugh and make you think. And that's what an artist is supposed to do." - Ahmad Jamal, Pianist & Composer

"I'll never forget that it was Sarah Vaughan 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, Singer

"I don't think there is a jazz pianist, young or old, who hasn't been influenced by Erroll Garner." - Jimmy Rowles, Jazz Pianist & Composer

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