was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad "Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first recorded in 1956 with Mitch Miller and his orchestra, and played a prominent part in the 1971 motion picture Play Misty for Me.
Scott Yanow of Allmusic calls him "one of the most distinctive of all pianists" and a "brilliant virtuoso". Garner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6363 Hollywood Boulevard. His live album Concert by the Sea[10] first released in 1955, sold more than 1 million copies by 1958, and Yanow's opinion on the album is that it "made such a strong impression that Garner was considered immortal from then on."
Garner began playing piano at the age of three. His elder siblings were taught piano by a "Miss Bowman." From an early age, Erroll would sit down and play anything she had demonstrated, "just like Miss Bowman", his eldest sister Martha said. Garner was self-taught and remained an "ear player" all his life, never learning to read music. At age 7, he began appearing on the radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh with a group named the Candy Kids. By age 11, he was playing on the Allegheny riverboats. In 1937 he joined local saxophonist Leroy Brown.
He played locally in the shadow of Linton Garner, his older brother, also a pianist.
Garner moved to New York City in 1944. He briefly worked with the bassist Slam Stewart, and although not a bebop musician per se, in 1947 played with Charlie Parker on the "Cool Blues" session. Although his admission to the Pittsburgh music union initially was refused because of his inability to read music, the union relented in 1956 and made him an honorary member. Garner is credited with a superb musical memory. After attending a concert by Russian classical pianist Emil Gilels, Garner returned to his apartment and was able to play a large portion of the performed music by memory.
