June 15th marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pittsburgh Piano great Erroll Garner. A graduate of Pittsburgh’s George Westinghouse High School (as were Ahmad Jamal and Billy Strayhorn), Garner was working as a musician before he was a teenager, and went to astound the world. His archives, now at the University of Pittsburgh, are a treasure trove of information on his career - including how he began to oversee his own recordings and creative control.
This is also Father’s Day weekend - we play some Fatha (Hines) and also music from a wonderful Pittsburgh jazz Family Album, Fathers and Sons, featuring the Aliquos, Johnsons, DeFades, DePaolis, Ashbys, Benack and more.
With the advent of Juneteenth, a great celebration of black music will be shared at Point State Park, including jazz events on June 18th, 22nd and a major day long event on June 24th. We highlight some that, too.
And there’s so much more for the Summer of 2021 - we will have to do more than one show to even scratch the surface! Follow Jazz Central for more details as we find out and share!
The Scene - Thursday at 6pm, Friday and Saturday at noon, Sunday afternoon at 5.
