For a measure of Tatum's ability, consider that no less a talent than Oscar Peterson has said that he wishes he could play like Art Tatum.

So, for that matter, did Vladimir Horowitz.

Les Paul (a man of monumental ego) tells the story on himself about how he figured at one time he had totally mastered the guitar so he sought out a new instrument upon which to become the worlds Greatest Player. He chose the piano, and then he heard Art Tatum play....

I believe Oscar Peterson tells the story about how as a young man he thought he was pretty hot stuff 'til his dad took him to see Art Tatum one night. He said he almost quit playing piano after that experience.

Sorry - was going to add that I think it was Tatum who would go into a club, check out the piano to see which notes were out of tune and which keys had bad action; then he would improvise his playing around avoiding those particular trouble spots on that particular instrument. Just brilliant.

I've never heard these stories before, but they're believable. Why is Tatum so unknown? I've been a swing fan since my youth, and I only recently heard of the guy. It's great to hear that other people had the same first impression.

I have Ultimate Art Tatum and the man played so fast at one point that the recording devices couldn't keep up. At first, I thought something was wrong with the CD or the player because it sounded as if it was skipping or fast-forwarding, but it was just Tatum's ten tearing up the 88. I wouldn't be surprised if pianos got nervous when he walked into a room. The man is wicked. Thanks for getting the word out, BG.

Bliffle: Les Paul should have listened to Django Reinhardt. He would have picked up his guitar again.

Art Tatum is the greatest jazz pianist ever. Not only was his technique superior to all jazz players, his sense of harmony, rhythm, and song-writing was of the highest quality.

Thanks for all the comments, guys. Good to know Art hasn't been forgotten.

Some funny stories I found at John Roache Music a while back:

"Tea For Two" by Vincent Youmans (music) and Irving Caesar (lyrics) (1924)
(notes by John Roache)

This is Art Tatum's artful (no pun intended) and swinging arrangement, originally sequenced by my good friend and fellow ragtime fan, Irwin Schwartz of San Jose, California. I did a little editing on it and we are sure you'll like the result.

"Tea For Two" was first recorded by Tatum on August 10, 1932, as a two-piano arrangement (with Francis Carter.) The author of Tatum's biography, James Lester, tells this story: "After his gig . . . Art [Tatum] was met by a welcoming committee from hell: Fats [Waller], Willie The Lion [Smith], James P. [Johnson] and Lippy Boyette." Lester then quotes Maurice Waller from his biography of his father: "Art played the main theme of Vincent Youmans' big hit, "Tea For Two," and introduced his inventive harmonies, slightly altering the melodic line. Good, but not very impressive. Then it happened. Tatum's left hand worked a strong, regular beat while his right hand played dazzling arpeggios in chords loaded with flatted fifths and ninths. Both his hands then raced toward each other in skips and runs that seemed impossible to master. Then they crossed each other[!]. Tatum played the main theme again and soared to an exciting climax."

Lester quotes another witness (Robert Doerschuk) to the event: "When Tatum played "Tea For Two" that night, I guess that was the first time I ever heard it really PLAYED." Also: "When [Tatum] played "Tea For Two", it sounded like "Tea For Two Thousand" (Timme Rosenkrantz, a Danish baron who lived in New York in the 1930s). Tatum recorded a solo version (his own arrangement) of "Tea For Two" for the first time on March 21, 1933.

Tatum and Vladimir Horowitz were good pals. When Horowitz was living in Chicago, he would attend Tatum's performances every time Tatum played Chicago. Tatum returned the favor by attending Horowitz's performances. Tatum once played "Tea For Two" for Horowitz (up close and personal.) Horowitz's comment: "How do you DO that?"

Here's another story from Lester:
"The English pianist Alan Clare was once intrigued with a workman who was carrying out some remodeling inside his house. Clare was playing some recordings, and he began to notice that the workman was whistling along with whatever music he put on - Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, it didn't seem to matter. Even if he hadn't heard it before, he had the natural musical ability to follow a melody closely and almost automatically. Clare decided to give him a real test and dug up his recording of Art Tatum doing "Tea For Two", with the ground-breaking chord changes Tatum introduced into the tune. The workman never lost a beat nor did he lay out for a bar or two to figure out what was going on. He tracked Tatum flawlessly through all his changes, and when the record ended, he spoke for the first time. He glanced at Clare and with classic English understatement said, 'Tricky f**ker, ain't he?'"

Roache midis and more here: http://www.johnroachemusic.com/

Just found an Art Tatum compilation at the public library today. I figure when he died, he must've went to heaven, because even God just had to ask how he did all that with just two hands, ten fingers and half an eye.

FYI

The Thomas "Fats" Waller Archive will be auctioned by Swann Auction Galleries in February, 2007

Here another little factoid: it was said that Art could tell you the root note of a flushing toilet(Jazz: A History of America's music by Ken Burns) .