Red Garland: The 1956 Trio is primarily a reissue of the album, A Garland of Red, plus tracks from Groovy and Red Garland's Piano, all released that same year. Notable standards here include "A Foggy Day," "My Romance," and "If I Were a Bell." Garland contributes one original tune and pulls out a pure bop number in Charlie Parker's "Constellation." This wide range of material shows off the trio's versatility and perfectly captures the transitional spirit of '50s jazz. Equally comfortable with bebop, blues, and ballads, capable of turning tin-pan alley tunes like "Makin' Whoopee" into something special, this trio creates plenty of magic. Set against later jazz styles of the '60s and '70s, especially electronic or rock fusion experiments, the material on Red Garland: The 1956 Trio can sound a bit staid and traditional. Garland may not have been breaking the envelope, but he was certainly riding the cutting edge for a new kind of piano playing that emerged in the '50s. Players like Garland, Mal Waldron, Wynton Kelly, and Cedar Walton relied less on flurries of notes, stride styles, and rhythmic chording characteristic of the previous generation. Piano in the '50s brought the ivories up front with the horn players and singers, showcasing lyrical, single-note solos floating over rich, nuanced harmonies.
Beyond the song selection and the individual musicianship here, the interplay between Garland, Chambers, and Taylor is like an education in everything that's good about a jazz rhythm section. Exchanging rhythmic motifs, staying out of each other's way, and rising or falling in perfect unison throughout each song, these guys are like a jazz machine. What no machine has yet perfected is the loose, organic swinging style that Garland and his bandmates exude on every track. Grab this one, quick.
