CD1
1. Misty
2. 1ndiana
3. The Man I Love
4. Laura
5. How High The Moon
6. Sophisticated Lady
7. Robbin's Nest
8. Dancing Tambourine
9. Rose Room
10. Full Moon And Empty Arms
11. Some Of These Days
12. Alexander's Ragtime Band
13. Them There Eyes
14. Moonglow
15. Humoresque
16. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
17. Passin' Through
CD2
1. Erroll's Bounce
2. Fancy
3. The Music Goes 'Round And 'Round
4. Dancing In The Dark
5. 1t Might As Well Be Spring
6. Solitaire
7. Until The Real Thing Comes Along
8. Stumbling
9. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
10. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
11. No More Time
12. 1f I Had You
13. Soliloquy
CD3
1. The Song from Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart?)
2. I Love Paris
3. French Doll
4. Louise
5. Farewell to Paris
6. Left Bank Swing
7. La Vie en Rose
8. The French Touch
9. Paris Bounce
10. My Man
11. La Petite Mambo
12. The Last Time I Saw Paris
13. Moroccan Quarter
Erroll Garner - Piano
There is no information given with this three-CD set, so it is difficult
to know when the tracks were recorded and who (if anyone) accompanied
Erroll. After some detective work, I can guess where at least some
of these items come from. The second CD is entitled Soliloquy
and it contains some of the tracks which were on an LP of the same
name, a reissue of which I
reviewed here last year. The third CD is titled I Love Paris
and it takes most of the tracks from the two volumes of the 1958 LPs
Paris Impressions, although omitting some items that Garner
recorded on the harpsichord. Erroll was accompanied here by bassist
Ed Calhoun and drummer Kelly Martin. In fact Garner had visited Paris
in December 1957, so the focus of this album is understandable.
Yet with Garner the recording details don't seem to matter much,
as one can simply sit back and enjoy the music - and most enjoyable
it is. One is tempted to analyse at least a few tracks closely because
of the sheer complexity and brilliance of Erroll's playing. For instance,
the very first track of the first CD - Misty (Garner's most
famous composition) - shows how he uses the sustaining pedal to create
a feeling of floating. And the following Indiana illustrates
his ability to swing, while The Man I Love supplies an example
of how his introductions often conceal the tune that is to come. His
endings can be equally unpredictable - often stretching out into a
series of phrases going up or down the scale.
In my previous review of Soliloquy, I noted how he takes
the simple melody of Stumbling and varies it creatively with
ever more adventurous ideas. He newly fashions a tune like It
Might As Well be Spring in ways that seem to approach the surreal.
He can keep different tunes or rhythms going in each hand and he uses
dynamics to suddenly change the feel of a piece.
As I have said before, Erroll Garner was an adult prodigy - a continually
astonishing player. And this boxed set of three CDs gives you more
than 200 minutes of breathtaking virtuosity.
Tony Augarde
www.augardebooks.o.uk
CD Reviews
Le Chant du Monde 
