Concert by the Sea

The album was recorded on September 19, 1955, in the gothic-revivalist styled assembly hall of Sunset School (now Sunset Center) in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, a welcoming space being used as part of local promoter Jimmy Lyons' "Sunset Series", this series in turn laying the groundwork for the beginnings of the Monterey Jazz Festival. From nearby Fort Ord military base servicemen were bused to join the enthusiastic and receptive audience at this Erroll Garner Trio gig. Accompanying Garner were bassist Eddie Calhoun and drummer Denzil Best. According to Columbia Records and its owner, Sony Music Entertainment, the acoustics were poor and the piano somewhat out of tune. The balance of instruments on the recording was also poor; the bass and drums were receded. There was no plan to record the concert officially. The release came about because Garner's personal manager, Martha Glaser, spotted backstage that a tape recorder was running. The recording was being made by a recording engineer for the Armed Forces Radio Network, "a jazz fan and scholar named Will Thornbury, strictly for the enjoyment of himself and his fellow servicemen". ==Album cover==

The original U.S. album cover photograph, showing a model in mid-stride with outstretched arms, was shot by music and fashion photographer Art Kane, who later photographed the 1958 group portrait of jazz musicians known as A Great Day in Harlem. Music journalist Marc Myers wrote that "[f]rom an aesthetic standpoint, Art Kane's [Concert by the Sea] cover had grace, movement and drama. White or black, the model featured was in ecstasy, telegraphing that the music inside was happy and guaranteed to raise your spirits." A 1970 U.S. reissue of Concert by the Sea introduced a new photograph (not taken by Kane), which reused Kane's concept, but with a model wearing bell-bottom pants and a hippie-style tunic shirt blouse. The 2015 release of the entire concert again paid tribute to Kane's original photograph, showing a model with outstretched arms standing in front of a rocky shoreline. International releases of the album have used a variety of cover photographs. ==Reception==

AllMusic awarded the album a maximum five stars, observing that it is "arguably the finest record pianist Erroll Garner ever made". ==2015 reissue==

On September 18, 2015, Sony Legacy released the album in an expanded box set version titled The Complete Concert by the Sea. Its three compact discs include the unedited full concert on discs one and two, with 11 tunes that did not appear on the original album, the original release remastered, and a 14-minute post-concert interview on disc three. The New York Times wrote: "the set will double the available music from the concert, shedding new light on Garner in what is often considered his finest hour." ==Track listing==

• Erroll Garner – piano • Eddie Calhoun – bass • Denzil Best – drums ==References==