William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. played clarinets and saxophones until he was about sixteen or seventeen, then suddenly switched to the piano. Despite this profession, he also dabbled as a welterweight boxer, even fighting against "Sugar" Ray Robinson, whose real name was Walker Smith Jr., without suffering any damage to his hands while boxing.

In his early twenties, he performed with Charles "Charlie" Christopher Parker, Jr., known to friends simply as "Bird," and with Lester Willis Young, called "Prez," during the early days of Be-Bop.

However, his fame began when he was already in his thirties and was hired into Miles Davis's quintet, where he experienced both highs and lows, even getting fired and then rehired in the sextet during the time of "Milestones" in '58.

Shortly after, Red Garland definitively left Miles Davis to form his own trio and over the years played with illustrious names of jazz, including John William Coltrane. In his career, cut short at just sixty years old by a heart attack, he recorded and released more than 50 albums and more...

Here we can listen to him in his quintet with Coltrane Red Garland Quintet - All Mornin' Long