Under Appreciated Jazz Piano Players

Scott, I hate to nitpick. OK, I love to nitpick! :-) Do you think Erroll Garner is under appreciated? I think this a case where you would be gladly mistaken, no? If he is under appreciated it is a situation that deserves much publicity. I would have thought that Soliloquy, Gems, and Concert by the Sea, among others would already have a place on most jazz pianist lovers' shelves.

I post this question not so much to take issue with your taste or opinion of anything jazz, which is consistently impeccable and accurate, but rather to highlight to others that his are recordings that are among those in the "must have" category.

Richie Beirach
Kirk Lightsey
Walter Norris
Bill Charlap
Mulgrew Miller
Wynton Kelly
John Taylor
Larry Goldings
Clare Fischer
Hank Jones
Harold Mabern
David Hazeltine
John Hicks

Irmin Schmidt,
Sergei Kuriokhin(only appreciated after his death),

I don't believe that Carla Bley was ever under-appreciated.

4Yanx:

Yes, I am quite confident that Erroll Garner falls into the "underappreciated" category. Ask the vast majority of people about Erroll, and they'll give you a blank look. Even if you ask people who have some interest in jazz, you will find that most of them know little about Garner, and probably have not heard anything but "Concert By The Sea".

I had the good fortune to hear Erroll Garner several times during the 1950's, both in concert and in clubs, and his exuberant, joyful music remains with me even today.

Should you and I start an Erroll Garner fan club?

How about Ray Bryant?