Jazz Articles about Red Garland

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Red Garland: Red Garland Trio at the Prelude

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
April 24, 2006

This double-disc set gathers material from four previous albums that dribbled out over twenty years, from the '60s to the '80s. It's the complete record of one night in Harlem--October 2, 1959--when the Red Garland trio did three sets at a club called the Prelude. The night was historic for many reasons; my focus is what the music actually sounds like, and why it's still of interest nearly half a century later.

Aside from the incomparable energy of a live ...

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Red Garland: Red Garland

by C. Michael Bailey
March 15, 2006

Red Garland (1923-84) is often critically dismissed a cocktail pianist only worthy of tinkling in the background of a lounge, but his depth as a musician is much deeper than that. A member of the first classic Miles Davis Quintet (with John Coltrane), Garland won favor with the bandleader for the way he used musical space, approximating the approach of pianist Ahmad Jamal. As a part of that band, Garland helped shape a good deal of Davis' Prestige output, as ...

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Red Garland Trio At The Prelude

by C. Michael Bailey
February 17, 2006

Red Garland Red Garland Trio At The Prelude (Complete) Prestige Records 1959/2006

Following the success of Bill Evans: The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 (Riverside 3RCD-4443-2, 2005) the Concord Music Group has slated for release several historically complete thematic sets. Among these is The Red Garland Trio At The Prelude. The some 135 minutes of music comprising three sets on the evening of October 2, 1959 at Harlem's Prelude Club, has characteristically been released ...

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Red Garland: Red Garland's Piano

by David Rickert
October 3, 2004

Red Garland's career got a boost with a stint in Miles Davis's first great quintet, where his laid-back, bluesy style perfectly suited the small group swing of the classic Prestige dates. But Garland was also capable of holding the spotlight all on his own and crafted a series of appealing trio recordings for the same label. Red Garland's Piano (1957) showcases what made the pianist a man worthy of admiration: a firm left hand provided a punchy rhythm while the ...

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Red Garland: Red Alone

by Derek Taylor
May 25, 2004

Solo piano sessions hold only a fraction of the mystique they once did in jazz. These days it’s far from uncommon for a pianist to crank out a session of him- or herself alone at the ivories, the precedence for the practice having long since been set. But back when this recently reissued Moodsville album came out, the format was still relatively fresh. The idea of an improviser left solely to his own devices at the keys carried a heavy ...

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Red Garland: Stretching Out

by David Rickert
October 2, 2002

Down the road Red Garland will probably only be remembered for his brief stint with Miles Davis, but he also recorded some fine trio work as well. This two-fer captures two sessions, about two-thirds of which were recorded live. At first, Garland seems like little more than a talented cocktail pianist, but as each tunes progresses he proves himself to be a worthy interpreter of tunes, and a hell of an improviser. Many of these tracks approach the ten minute ...

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Art Pepper: Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section

by C. Michael Bailey
October 2, 2002

Making a classic better and affordable? Man, being reasonable, must get drunk; The best of life is but intoxication: Glory, the grape, love, gold, in these are sunk The hopes of all men, and of every nation; Without their sap, how branchless were the trunk Of life's strange tree, so fruitful on occasion: But to return,—Get very drunk; and when You wake with headache, you shall see what then. —George Gordon, Lord Byron, from Don Juan