Arv Garrison

Who was Arv Garrison?

Arvin Charles "Arv" Garrison was an American jazz guitarist.

Garrison taught himself ukelele at age nine and played guitar for dances and local functions from age twelve. He led his own band at a hotel in Albany, New York, in 1941. Following time with Don Seat, he put together a trio which played on both the East and West coasts of the United States until 1948; after 1946 it was called the Vivien Garry Trio, after his wife and bassist.

Garrison recorded on Dial Records with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and was active on the early bebop scene in New York City in the 1940s. Jazz critic Leonard Feather interviewed Garrison extensively about playing with Parker. In the 1950s he returned to Toledo and played locally. He died in 1960 by drowning during an epileptic seizure.