Garner’s dazzling technique and commitment to melody made him the most commercially successful jazz pianist of the late forties and early fifties. His style was built on a combination of the percussive rhythmic directness of swing and the harmonic developments of bebop. The son of a pianist, Garner was playing in local bands when, at the age of sixteen, he was discovered by Mary Lou Williams. He went to New York in the early forties, taking part in jam sessions with Charlie Parker and other pioneers of bebop. He first recorded for Savoy with Slim Gaillard’s associate Slam Stewart, a bassist whose specialty

was to hum solos in unison with his playing. Garner accompanied vocalist Earl Coleman on ‘This Is Always’. Soon afterwards Garner formed his first trio, the format he would use for the remainder of his career. He recorded albums for Mercury and Disc before spending two years in California. There he cut sides for Ross Russell’s Dial both with Parker and under his own name with bassist John Simmons and Alvin Stoller (drums). These included ‘Loose Nut’, ‘Blues Garni’ and ‘Laura’, his first great success.
   Garner recorded prodigiously for Atlantic, Savoy, Rex and Signature before joining Columbia in the wake of his big success with ‘Misty’, his best-known tune and one of the most performed songs of the post-war years. With lyrics by Jimmy Van Heusen’s partner Johnny Burke, the song was a million-seller for Johnny Mathis in 1959 and was revived by Lloyd Price and Ray Stevens. A series of best-selling albums followed of which the most notable was Concert by the Sea.
   It exemplified Gamer’s approach, with its selection of Broadway show tunes and standard ballads with strong melody lines. They included ‘Teach Me Tonight’, ‘Autumn Leaves’ and ‘April in Paris’. Gamer continued to tour and record frequently during the sixties and seventies, releasing albums on Columbia, Atlantic and London.