Under Appreciated Jazz Piano Players

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?

Scott, hopefully this thread will constitute the fan club and perhaps others will remove the "under" portion of the underappreciated label. Garner played with a fluidity and "cheerfulness" that I find somewhat unrivaled. And, he was a wonderful master of block chords. Probably many don't know that he was the composer of the famous song "Misty". Was not his brother Linton, an accomplished pianist in his own right?

Some other titles that may be of interest to others which I have acquired since being "tuned on" to Garner by Scott and after conferring with my father who once had a definitive collection of jazz LP's:

Solitaire
Body and Soul
That's My Kick
Other Voices
Paris Impressions
Feeling is Believing
Night and Day

Though I choose the vinyl, when available, many Garner titles have been reissued on CD, as well.

Find and enjoy!

I second Ray Bryant–a phenomenal, funky, bluesy pianist. I think I'll go listen to a couple LPs right now . . .