Linton Garner

Linton Garner (March 25, 1915 in Greensboro, North Carolina[1][2][3] – March 6, 2003 in Vancouver) was a jazz pianist. He was Erroll Garner's older brother.

Linton Garner
Birth nameLinton Garner
Born(1915-03-25)25 March 1915
Greensboro, North Carolina
Died6 March 2003(2003-03-06) (aged 87)
Vancouver, Canada
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsPiano
Trumpet
Vocalist
Years active1930s-2003

Biography

As a youngster he was keener to play cornet than piano, but due to problems with his teeth, was forced to concentrate on the keyboard. From the age of 8 until 10 he had piano lessons, as did his three sisters (Martha, Ruth and Berniece), unlike his brother Erroll.

He was arranger and pianist with Fletcher Henderson's band before the Second World War, then spent 1943 to 1946 in the army, where he played both piano and trumpet in different bands. Afterwards he was pianist and arranger for a number of distinguished bands including those of Billy Eckstine and Dizzy Gillespie. He also accompanied Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole, Carmen McRae and Della Reese. He also wrote songs, including "You're the One For Me." [4]

He moved to Canada in 1963. In 1974, Arni May invited him to Vancouver to accompany him at the opening of the Richmond Inn Hotel. Linton stayed in Vancouver and worked in many venues. He was resident pianist for seven years at the Four Seasons Hotel. In the 1990s he played at the Three Greenhorns in Vancouver. He also sang and played the piano in Rossini's restaurant in Kitsilano.

The Linton Garner Legacy Quartet, featuring drummer Don Fraser, bassist Russ Botten pianist Ron Johnston, pianist Miles Black continues to play Garner's music.

He died of kidney failure in Vancouver at the age of 87.[5]

  1. Barry Kernfeld, ed. (2002). "Garner, Linton (S.)". The new Grove dictionary of jazz, vol. 2 (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. pp. 15–16. ISBN 1561592846.
  2. Myers, Marc. "Jazz Wax".
  3. Erroll Garner Gems, Volume 1, Number 4 (October 1991). "Two Evenings With Linton Garner". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. Erroll Garner Gems, Volume 1, Number 4 (October 1991). "Two Evenings With Linton Garner". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. https://old.post-gazette.com/obituaries/20030315garner5.asp
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