Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Garry Dial was born on July 2, 1954 in Montclair, New Jersey. He began piano lessons at the age of 10 with Elston Husk and his mother, a pianist helped him practice. His 7th grade teacher gave him his first jazz record The Oscar Peterson Trio which instilled in him the love of jazz. Entering high school at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, New Jersey where the priests at St. Benedict’s supported his love of jazz. While in church he met Mary Lou Williams who offered him free lessons, took him under her wing and for the next few years went into Harlem to study with her. It was there he learned of Miles, Monk, Bud Powell and Cecil Taylor.

As a junior in high school Garry took the Summer Jazz Workshop at Berklee College Of Music and realized that music and jazz would be his calling. After high school graduation he returned to Berklee where he met his teacher of 37 years, the late Charlie Banacos. After one year at Berklee fellow musician Kenny Werner recommended him for a gig in Bermuda as the pianist at The Princess Hotel from 1975 to 1978.

A move to New York saw Dial playing with Charli Persip, performing at Frank Sinatra’s private parties, joining Gerry Mulligan’s Big Band, the Mel Lewis Quartet and Joe Morello Quintet. He was enlisted by Ruth Ellington Boatwright, Duke’s sister, to perform and record on tape each composition in the entire Ellington archive, as many were never recorded or played by the composer and would have been lost to history. Shortly afterward, he met Red Rodney and where he first came to fame as an important modernizing force with the Red Rodney-Ira Sullivan Quintet. After a ten-year association Sullivan departed and was replaced by saxophonist Dick Oatts, and they eventually formed the group Dial & Oatts, recording for the DMP label. Garry has also recorded with his own trio for the Continuum label.

As an educator he has leant his talent and knowledge to the students at the Manhattan School of Music and the New School, has given private lessons with Stefon Harris, Jacob Sacks, Mary J. Blige, Bette Midler, Alexa Joel and Amanda Brecker, to name a few. Hard bop and post bop pianist Garry Dial continues to perform, record, tour and educate.

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