ORIGINAL 1972 LP LINER NOTES

Admittedly, I'm not much into astrology. But some. times, the characteristics of a sun sign fit an individual born under it so remarkably well that skepticism must be suspended.

Erroll Garner is a consummate Gemini. This is the sign which emphasizes duality, contrast and unpredictability. Geminis are given to mercurial changes and love adventure and experimentation. They have the capacity to raise the level of those around them.

To begin with, Garner is a twin. He is fully ambidextrous, playing golf or tennis with either hand and giving out both left and right-handed autographs. No performing artist gives more freely of himself than Garner-the master of total and immediate projection and communication. In contrast, the man remains a private person always reserving some secret part of himself. What is revealed is like the tip of an iceberg, his own inner levels still in the process of being explored.

Musically, Garner's duality is complete. His music combines intellect and emotion in perfect balance, moving and involving the listener on many planes, from sheer un. reflecting enjoyment to total astonishment. It is at once extroverted and introverted, completely free, yet totally disciplined, virile and lyrical, sentimental and irreverent, playful and moody, complex and simple.

Pursing the dualistic theme, we find that Garner is pianist and composer, balladeer and swinger, an acrobat holding tension and release in delicate equilibrium, a master of contrasting dynamics, a painter and a dancer, an artist given to antithetical musical statements, but, reflecting nature itself, always arriving at a harmonic resolution.

Garner's love of surprise is, of course, reflected in his startling, teasing introductions which keep his audiences and his accompanists in a state of suspense and joyful anticipation not to mention those many dazzling cliffhangers any Garner improvisation, once the theme has been established, holds in store.

Musically, this process of exploration has continued unabated from the time Garner first exploded on the jazz scene. It is hard to believe that he now is entering his fourth decade as a major musical figure, for he is as youthful, vital and astonishing as ever-if anything, even more so.

In this album, which surely must rank with his all-time best, Garner will astound and enchant even his most dedicated fans. For newcomers to Garner, or to jazz, there could be no better introduction.

GEMINI is a portrait of the artist in the process of self-renewal and discovery. In an age of constantly debased superlatives one hesitates to employ them, but nothing less will do for Garner. He is a genius, a sorcerer, a benign monster of music whose inspiration flows as naturally as his breath, bathing the listener in a river of life-restoring sound. He can make you believe there is still hope for our world-the greatest gift an artist can bestow.

HOW HIGH THE MOON is a space-trip a la Garner. In no less than nine superlative choruses, he reinvests a once most familiar tune with new life. The tempo is fast but utterly solid, and as the pithy ideas unfold, each chorus becomes a new experience. From the fifth on, fasten your seat belts, please. The penultimate chorus is a dazzling visit to the land of bop, encompassing some active doubling unlike anything heard from Garner before.

IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU is another transfiguration of a standard theme. The teasing introduction has a gospel flavor. The melody is stated as only Garner can accomplish this seemingly easy yet most challenging of musical feats (i.e., to state a theme clearly and fully, yet make it wholly your own). The second chorus is a demonstration of the meaning of the verb to swing (the tempo seems to accelerate but holds absolutely firm), tension is built and gradually released in a perfectly sculpted performance.

GEMINI, one of the two new Garner originals on this album, is a treat. The theme, a seemingly simple, yet ultra sophisticated blues (with a bridge which subtly reworks the thematic material of the mainstream), is presented with an Afro-Latin flavor.

WHEN A GYPSY MAKES HIS VIOLIN CRY might strike some as an odd vehicle for Garner, but the fact is that he has had a long-time profound affection for Gypsy music. This is not Garner's first excursion into this territory (re member PLAY, FIDDLE, PLAY, and DARK EYES) but certainly his most fascinating. The abstract introduction is a masterpiece in itself, and as he moves into tempo, Garner states the melody ever so softly and hauntingly, with Gypsy inflections and effects. He builds in volume and intensity, and then, for one of the album's multi-surprises, moves over to the harpsichord, an instrument he hasn't played in some fourteen years, when he first made some experimental recordings on it.

The sounds Garner coaxes from the harpsichord are wholly his own, and here appropriately become reminiscent of the Gypsy instrument, the cimbalom. This acoustical harpsichord excursion is improvisation at its most pure. The ending Garner creates here employs both piano and harpsichord in gem-like interaction.

Side two opens with an almost unbelievable outing on TEA FOR TWO, with its set of changes that has served many a great musician well, but seldom, if ever, better. A rhythm section introduction sets the stage for Garner's harpsichord (sounding like another instrument than on Gypsy by the way) outlining the theme in the ultimate of economy and subtle rhythmic displacement. For his second chorus, Garner glides into the piano, creating monumental swing. Then, without breaking the time or feeling, he returns to the harpsichord, invents a riff, sounds like an organ, then a guitar, then returns to the simplicity of the opening. A stunning piece.

SOMETHING, one of the finest pop tunes of recent years, is a flawless introduction and single chorus-just that. One minute and 48 seconds of bliss. This miniature masterpiece resulted from a take that broke down at the end of the first chorus (due to the unfamiliarity of one of the accompanists with the song). Thanks to the producer for letting us in on this rare vignette.

ELDORADO, the second new Garner composition unveiled here, also is in the very contemporary Afro-Latin vein-a minor blues with a bridge. Again, the performance builds masterfully, from contrapuntal intro to "tag" ending —with a natural fade effect. The theme, as in so many of Garner's compositions, is instantly captivating. Garner has been into the Afro-Latin vein since the early 50's.

THESE FOOLISH THINGS, a classic standard, gives rise to a classic Garner interpretation. The brief intro loads to a superb paraphrase of the melody in ballad tempo, showing Garner's matchless ability to swing in any tempo. A freely invented rubato passage links this with the next chorus, in easy bounce tempo. What follows is Garner's melodic inventiveness at its loveliest. Until now, Lester Young's and Billie Holiday's versions of this song have occupied a special place of reverence in my collection. Now Garner's join them.

The task of accompanying a musical giant is not an easy one, particularly in improvisations, but Garner's accompanists here rise to exciting levels fed by Garner's challenging on-the-spot creations.

The senior member, Jose Mangual, with Garner for some five years, has an uncanny ability to intuit Garner, though at times Garner even eludes Jose. Unlike many Latin percussionists, he never overplays. His time is impeccable and complements Garner well.

Drummer Jimmie Smith, a steady, dependable supporter of the common musical cause, has been aboard the Garner spaceship for some three years and rides easily with the ever-changing signals, with deft shadings and great elan.

Bassist Ernest McCarty, Jr., the baby of the group, has been with Garner for two years and makes his first recording appearance with the leader here. He is a fine timekeeper and blessed with a good ear and funky attack.

Garner's unpredictable and glorious travels into the spheres, guided by heart and head, continue to reveal new dimensions. When he first appeared on the scene, Garner already had at his command a new musical language which he had created, and which since has become part of the vocabulary of jazz (and popular) piano expression. But even as others listen and borrow, Garner remains light years ahead-one of those rare beings in any art who is wholly original and inviolably his own man.

No matter what your birth sign, you'll find this Gemini totally fresh and relevant contemporary music, requiring only open ears and an open heart to receive its life-affirming message. This album is your ticket to Eldorado, and it never will expire.

Original Liner Notes by Dan Morgenstern