Play Misty For Me………okay

Erroll Garner

“Misty” – The Erroll Garner Trio

This Erroll Garner composition has of course taken on alife of it’s own beyond the world of jazz as the song that was the centre piece for the Clint Eastwood film “Play Misty For Me”

Despite this celebrity it should be remembered that the song was already regarded as a jazz standard and that Garner was without doubt a very distinctive pianist with a unique style unlike anyone else.

As for the film, released in 1971, it was of course directed by Clint Eastwood who plays David “Dave” Garver, a KRML radio disc jockey who becomes the target of Evelyn Draper, an obsessed female fan, played by Jessica Walter. Donna Millsplays his re-acquainted girlfriend, Tobie Williams. The title comes from Draper’s habit of phoning in to Garver’s radio show and asking him to play “Misty”.

The film paved the way for later stalker films such as Fatal Attraction, particularly those with a female antagonist, and also those where the villain appeared to have died prematurely. It is also notable for its use of location shooting, mostly in the area of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, where Eastwood has long made his home, and where he was elected Mayor in 1986. Additional scenes were shot at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September 1970, featuring jazz greats Johnny Otis, Cannonball Adderley, and future Weather Report founder Joe Zawinul.

The film features a romantic montage backed by Roberta Flack‘s recording of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”

“First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” – Roberta Flack.

To buy the music of Roberta Flack click HERE

To buy the DVD click HERE

Advertisements