Great Jazz Albums (IMO) #23

Red Garland. Groovy (1957).  Red Garland was known for his signature block chord piano style and for his work in one of Miles Davis's greatest quintets. (See Miles Davis.)  Garland went on to record many excellent albums as a leader, mostly in a trio setting.  A favorite of mine is Groovy, which he made with the rest of the Miles Davis rhythm section -- Art Taylor on drums and Paul Chambers on bass.  One reviewer aptly described the recording as a "warm, sultry mix of jazz standards ("C Jam Blues," "Willow Weep For Me"), then-popular fare ("Gone Again," "What Can I Say," "Will You Still Be Mine") and a de rigueur Garland blues ("Hey Now")."   Another noted that with this album Garland took his music to another level, calling it a "springboard to making Red Garland one of the most revered and respected jazz pianists of the modern era."

[Related posts:  Really Great Jazz Albums,  #1 (Hank Mobley); , #2 (Horace Silver), #3 (Sonny Rollins), #4 (Sonny Clark), #5 (Dexter Gordon), #6 (Cannonball Adderley), #7 (Bill Evans), #8 (McCoy Tyner), #9 (Clifford Brown), #10 (Sinatra), #11 (Monk), #12 (Kenny Dorham), #13 (Coltrane), #14 (Duke Ellington), #15 (Miles Davis), #16 (Wayne Shorter), #17 (Dinah Washington); #18 (Sarah Vaughan); #19 (Stan Getz); #20 (Blue Mitchell); #21 (Gene Ammons); #22 (Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers)]