Erroll Garner - Concert By The Sea (1955)

A legendary, bestselling jazz live album that came about purely by chance - Columbia had no intention of taping this September 1955 performance in Carmel By The Sea, CA by Erroll Garner's trio.  Garner's manager Martha Glaser just happened to spot an American Forces Network engineer making a recording during the concert.  She took the tape to George Avakian at Columbia, and little over a month later it was in record stores as an edited LP (a complete version would eventually be released in 2015).

 

The acoustics might have been less than ideal in the hall, and the tape sounds a bit spotty and low-fi, but as soon as your ears adjust there's absolute gold here.  Swinging through some classic standards, plus a composition for the occasion, Garner's rhythmic, melodic and chordal genius takes in his influences from boogie-woogie and stride piano forebearers and Latin rhythms to create absolutely joyous music.  Classical influences too - love his little Debussy quote in They Can't Take That Away From Me.  In terms of a favourite from the album - swelling and receding like the ebb and flow of the sea, Garner's take on Autumn Leaves is my standout track here.

Original LP cover, photo by Art Kane - image at top is a 1970s-era imitation

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