Erroll Garner: No One Can Hear You Read

Jazz pianist Erroll Garner (1923-1977) was a legendary musician with a four-decade career that found him playing in his own dazzling style all over the world. Filmmaker Atticus Brady's Erroll Garner: No One Can Hear You Read offers an excellent overview of Garner's life and accomplishments, drawing on comments from numerous interviewees who offer fascinating insights. Born in Pittsburgh, Garner was known to climb out of his crib to play piano early in the morning at the age of three. Growing up in an urban hotbed of jazz, Garner joined the Candy Kids—children who played at theaters and on local radios—and became a sensation. Soaking up influences while also under the tutelage of the same school bandleader who coached Billy Strayhorn, Garner learned to mimic his heroes at the piano, moving to New York to perform with Charlie Parker. But while he could play be-bop, Garner was his own man musically (former sidemen in Garner's band talk about how Garner would never play a tune the same way twice). Full of great anecdotes (including how Garner wrote “Misty” in his mind while enduring a frightening flight on an airplane), the documentary features comments from Woody Allen, Ahmad Jamal, Maurice Hines, Steve Allen, Kim Garner (Erroll's daughter), and others. DVD extras include a director's commentary and extended interviews. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)