Art Tatum

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Art Tatum could do anything, and here you see that his hand is doing all the things it should be. His arch is completely functional; although it looks on the flat side if you observe carefully you will understand that it is never collapsed. Collapse is a function, or a lack of thereof. Even when he is "floppy," his arch is giving him everything he needs. What an amazing musician, we should all bow down to him! I am so grateful these clips are on YouTube! Thanks for posting it! And check out these clips! I like this one because there is no sound so you can really focus on just how wonderfully his hand is working: But this Dvorak clip takes home all the awards - it's completely over the top! Enjoy, and thanks once again! AFF

I was so happy to read this thread! I still remember the first time i got an Art Tatum cd when i was 16 years old!This completely changed my life.I wanted to be a jazz pianist and started to play jazz tunes all the time.His style was what i adored,the perfect marriage of classical piano music and jazz music.Improvisation and arragements. I always admire these old recordings of Art Tatum.I know that he was a friend of Vladimir Horowitz and people say that Horowitz was impressed by Art Tatum,and that Horowitz composed a version of tea for two (although i never managed to find a recording by Horowitz). Seeing these transcriptions years later helped me learn much about jazz and classical music too. To anyone interested i have many of Art Tatum's transcriptions in pdf format. Pieces like Tiger Rag,How high the moon,the Humoresque of Dvorak etc. Art Tatum was also one of the fathers of "bebop" jazz movement, despite the fact that he was also in to the swing style and the stride piano style that dominated the 1930 and early 1940ies in jazz -example of swing style was Fats Waller,Earl Hines,Duke Ellington with the swing bass accompaniaments -called stride style i think-. Many say that father of jazz bebop movement was Charlie Parker with Bud Powell.But i have read in an encyclopedia that Charlie Parker was working once as someone who cleaned dishes for a living in a jazz club,listening to Art Tatum improvising in that club -and he liked it!-. Tatum's improvised lines in the right hand were like bebop melodies many times-some years before the explosion of the jazz bop style- Many jazz pianists and musicians like Bud Powel,Charlie Parker,Mccoy Tyner,Chick Corea,Oscar Peterson -to name a few- were influenced by his style. Also check out the legendary recordings of Elegy,of some parts of Dvorak symphony for the new world (called "going home" in the cd that tatum plays). Also his arragements of tunes like "the tiger rag"....always makes me happy to hear it...as well as the "get happy" arragement. Thank you for mentioning Art Tatum.I grew up listening to Art Tatum piano pieces.And i will never stop listening to this music from heaven!

The story goes that Horowitz was so impressed with Tatum that he spent a long time working up a really splashy arrangement of Tea for Two, and finally brought it to Tatum and played it. Tatum sat down and played a version that just wiped Horowitz's off the slate. Horowitz asks him, "How long did it take you to develop that version?" "How long?" was the reply, "I just made it up!" Anyway they are both my gods, so I don't mean to disparage H's greatness - but it's a fun story! Thanks for posting! AFF