JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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As regular readers of this website know, I tend to focus on jazz since the 60s, but every once in a while, I have to make an exception. Art Tatum was mostly a stride, boogie woogie, and swing pianist. All of these are styles which are rarely played these days, and so Art Tatum will sound hopelessly old-fashioned to most modern listeners.
But you really should own at least one CD of Art Tatum, for historical reasons as much as anything else. He was the bridge between an earlier era and bebop, which is course is still very relevant. Also, he was a staggeringly inventive and prodigiously gifted pianist. His left and right hands were incredibly fast and his brain moved at the speed of light, as is apparent if you listen to the cuts on The Definitive Art Tatum (released on the Blue Note label). If you need any more encouragement, Joe Zawinul, a terrific technician in his own right, considered Art Tatum the best jazz pianist ever to play the instrument.
The Definitive Art Tatum will get your toes wet in the world of Art Tatum. These are almost all solo performances, which is where his abilities shine brightest, and all of the cuts are undeniably great, but the package is a bit chintzy at only 16 tunes. And it also doesn’t include Tiger Rag, commonly thought to be Art Tatum’s greatest performance.
The point is, of course The Definitive Art Tatum is a great CD, but there are plenty of other choices out there, depending on what you’re looking for.
I couldn’t find samples of the actual CD, but these samples contain some of the same performances and should give you a pretty good idea if you would be interested in picking up The Definitive Art Tatum.