Jazz Articles about Red Garland

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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

Red Garland (Jazzland / OJC OJCCD-1064-2: Red's Good Groove

by C. Michael Bailey
January 1, 2002

When Red is Blue.

And Red is always blue when he records. Death, Taxes, and Red Garland playing the blues— One can count on all of these things. Red's Good Groove was recorded in early 1962 by the Miles Davis nucleus of Garland and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Sam Jones replaces the ubiquitous Paul Chambers and Blue Mitchell and Pepper Adams round out the not-so-common trumpet-baritone front. This is a brief and relaxed session that finds some rather intricate ...

Red Garland Trio: It's a Blue World

by Derek Taylor
January 1, 2000

One of the hardest working trios of the 50s the Garland/Chambers/Taylor unit recorded more than a dozen sessions for the Prestige label and its subsidiaries during a four year stretch at the close of the decade. In slightly different form with “Philly” Joe Jones replacing Taylor they were also the formidable rhythm section for Miles Davis’ first great quintet with John Coltrane. Both their fecundity and their choice of projects point to the fact that this trio was something special ...

Red Garland Trio: Groovy

by Douglas Payne
November 1, 1999

This trio was known as the rhythm section when Groovy was made. Pianist Red Garland (1923-84), bassist Paul Chambers (1935-69) and drummer Art Taylor (1929-95) were in the midst of a long tenure with Miles Davis and stayed busy in studios backing one horn player after another. The unit's simpatico refinement never wavers in doubt. They were made for each other, honed in night-after-night of performances in a variety of settings. Consider the way Garland balances his chunky block chords ...