Concert by the Sea - COMPLETE.

[Brian]

Esteemed jazz pianist Erroll Garner will be the focus of an upcoming 60th anniversary tribute from Sony Legacy. The Complete Concert By the Sea will be released on Sept. 18, 2015 -- the 60th anniversary of the original live concert produced in Carmel, Calif.

The three-CD box set, being released jointly by Sony Legacy and Octave Music Publishing Corp., is available for pre-order on Amazon. In addition to 11 previously unreleased tracks, the package includes the digitally restored and remastered edition of the original edited 1956 Columbia release. Bonus material -- featuring interviews with Garner and namesake trio members Denzil DaCosta Best and Eddie Calhoun plus announcer commentary -- round out the offering.



http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6598139/sony-legacy-erroll-garner-complete-concert-by-the-sea

-

I don't know why they took a weird new cover photo, but man...11 previously unreleased tracks?!

[king ubu]

WOW! Finally! 

The Garner estate (really just one nutty person, it seems) succeeded in preventing his music from ever properly making the CD era. Guess it's too late now, but I'll happily take this!

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

It's the worst Errol Garner record ever. Almost anything else would have been better.

[escher]

It's the worst Errol Garner record ever. Almost anything else would have been better.

what are your favorites?

[Brian]

It's the worst Errol Garner record ever. Almost anything else would have been better.

Care to explain? I certainly enjoy it more than many other Garner records...

[Ken B]

It's the worst Errol Garner record ever. Almost anything else would have been better.

Glad to hear that! It was my first, and last, Garner.

[San Antone]

It's the worst Errol Garner record ever. Almost anything else would have been better.

I don't know about that.  Way way back when I was first getting my feet wet in jazz, it was the record strongly recommended to me by a very good jazz pianist as mandatory listening.  It is highly regarded by most jazz pros and aficionados, but - I am not convinced the extra material signifies an improvement on this classic.

[king ubu]

Well, thing is, this isn't so much about extra material rather than about ANY official Garner reissue. His management (some Ms. Glaser, obviously quite a case) has succeeded in making sure hardly any of his material arrived in the CD era in any official form. Sure, the Spanish and other PD labels kicked in, eventually, but ... Garner should really have had a Mosaic box or any other type of premium reissues dedicated to. But he didn't. Ever. So far. So ...

And in my book, it's a fabulous record, that's for sure!

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

I haven't listened to it in ages, but maybe I will try again sometime (no plans to buy this issue). In my recollection it seemed to be a really cheesy commercialization--sort of a "Garner Lite" meant to appeal to the masses. I also seem to remember that the audience was annoying as well (but I don't like live recordings in general.) I don't think I actually have any Garner on CD, but some on LP. I think my favorite is Gems, issued on Columbia in the early 50s. Solitaire on Mercury is also quite good. The Columbias of that era had outstanding piano sound--some of the best ever recorded in mono (or in any format for that matter) and pretty much all these Garner recordings are brilliant. The Mercuries were also very good, but a bit bright and brassy sounding in general (and not just for piano).

I would certainly be interested in a good CD reissue set and/or some high quality LP reissues. As someone noted, any Garner reissue is noteworthy.

Garner discography anyone?