@twooffour, I don't doubt your comments. Most jazz pianists do have great dexterity in the fingers. This allows them to play Mozart, Bach, Haydn pretty well technically. Give them Liszt and Rachmaninoff....I assure you their weaknesses will be exposed. Oscar and Art are the few Jazz greats with no weakness technically. Unless you're a virtuoso pianist yourself, you would not understand my statements. So you have your right to your views. I'm stating the facts.
@Naltino Why would playing Liszt and Rachmaninoff expose their weaknesses? and which weaknesses are you referring to, specifically? I'm just curious. I'm also curious how you'd rank Herbie Hancock relative to Tatum and Peterson; I'd always thought that he was one of the better jazz pianists as well. And Patrice Rushen, if you could count her.
@minnesotafan117: Imbecilic. Right. Sloppy is SLOPPY! I'm a 'Celiist/Guitarist. Own and play 3 Strats. What do you play and how well ie: any scholarships to music schools when you were nine and twelve and on, perhaps? Can you play anything besides the stereo?
Im 21 and i have been playing the piano all my life, i gained a full scholarship to the music university in warsaw when i was 13. I am currently teaching young children how to play the instrument. I major in jazz/improvisations, yet for 15 years I studied/played classical music and harmony. I carefully listen to tatums tiger rag and i hear a god-like technique considering i am currently playing a different arrangment of this piece. this thoroughly explains who i am.
@minnesotafan117: Yes I do know a bit about it, Harpsichord plucking as well. My school was affiliated with the Paris Conservatory. I was accepted on a full scholarship at 12 with a Vivaldi piece and finished with the Lalo Cello Concerto after many Masters Classes, Solfege, Dictation, Theory, Harmony and Composition. Yes the "Soft-loud," sure only a tiny-little-bit. LOL! He was sloppy, that's all. You at 21 are still rebelling and not even aware. In time you will understand.
@minnesotafan117: I didn't say he wasn't really good did I? All I accurately said was that he was sloppy. This is great fun BUT, I stand by my comment. The issue with "sloppy," is that no two takes are reliably the same. In other words, this freestyle type of playing is ONLY for a soloist, not even useable for duets or trios. That's why Jazz insists upon "trading fours" etc. as the main focus of performing as opposed the brilliance of Beethoven's Archduke trio and the like.
@paullubliner You're a "cellist/guitarist" and you say things like "inferior technique??? Yup...." to a PIANIST who has been admired by Rachmaninoff? I don't think this is the time and place to make jokes like that, doode (unless you don't know what the word "Rachmaninoff" means, in which case your comment IS funny).
To Credman, Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson are the exceptions to the rule. They are not just virtuosos....they are SUPERVIRTUOSOS. There's no weakness in their playing. Using Art as a representative of the typical jazz pianist is like using Michael Jordan as the typical NBA player. Most jazz pianists do have bad techniques. Don't try to prove this fact as false by using Art Tatum. He and Oscar are in a class by themselves.
Art Tatum, thru some God-given 6th sense, was able to play a piano on such an elevated level, it's almost too much music for the average listener. Truly a unique musician.
@123snowball I don't know where you got you're information regarding Horowitz learning Art Tatum version of Tea for Two. However you can tell from the brief footage of Horowitz playing tea for two that he knew Tatum's 1933 recording of the song.
ce morceau est trop beau pour etre si MAL joue!!! ce n est pas du classique ca doit se danser! et ce n rst pas non plus du woogie. its not the BEST....au contrairez.
When I first heard Art Tatum play, I thought the recording device had malfunctioned because no human being could play that quickly and clearly, but... Art Tatum could and did...
@bazzatt1 uhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHH so? I could care much less that it's one scale improvisation. as a pianist i can tell you that for a piece like this, that hardly matters because it's incredibly difficult to play regardless. why don't you give it a whirl hotshot.
@bazzatt1 you are honestly a dill weed, to not honor the past, and disrespect the only person who has ever cruised across the keys that quickly, and on top of that Herbie Hancock who I know you probably have a deep admiration would say that he is yet unable to do that. But since you are so nice on the keys, I am going to keep my eyes open on youtube to see your video performing this piece.
@bazzatt1 I actually didn't appreciate Mr. Tatum as much when i first heard him...until i went and tried to play an arranged piece by him, umm... i think it was an arrangement of elegy, and i am still well, fascinated with his creativity, because he could compose works as ingenius as Rachmoninov, emotional as Chopin, and technical as Liszt....except that the majority of his works were spontaneous and improvisational, as quickly gone as they had been made.... this is Mr. Tatum's real genius.
@bazzatt1 Will you please tell me the one scale he is improvising over? He is cleary playing the changes. Besides, listen to that left hand man! wow!...Also you should transcribe this before you call anyone an idiot. Thank you and good night
You have to keep in mind that he CREATED these arrangements from scratch. It's almost more impressive that he played the same complex arrangement and memorized it than played something different each time. He was able to take the worst run down song and make it into a masterpiece.
Classically-trained here.. I always knew Tatum was phenomenal.. That's before I found out he was also blind. How someone can play like this without eyes to see is simply mind-boggling. It's practically inconceivable. This is human achievement at its highest level.
Big mistake to be talking about classical, jazz, or any other style, in regard to Art Tatum. He was simply one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century...or any other century. He was playing on a plane seemingly way above others, and the speed of his thought is almost too much to take in at one sitting.
Tragically taken away from the music world far too young. Staggering playing.
WHAT SKILL, WHAT THRILLS!!!! hE'S SO SUPPLE IT GIVES ME THE CHILLS!!!!! fabulously lush, sweet ,tickles and stabs at the same time. A true success. Can't mess wit it naw!!!
I know a classical pianist who's got the "if it's not classical, it's slop" attitude. I didn't understand where she was coming from but I figured out that she was under the impression that the techniques of classical apply to all music - blues, jazz, eastern, what have you. It's like saying French cooking is the only way to prepare food and every other culture has failed.
Plus she can rip, but only if it's on the page. Without sheet music she can't so much as improvise over a simple I-IV-V progression - what is that about?
@socksandpistols Classical techniques *do* apply to every type of music. But it depends on which techniques you're talking about.
My technical rule is that music needs to feel as if it's got a direction. As long as it has that, you can at least hold the listener's attention.
Sonata form? Species counterpoint? They're helpful guidelines, but if you're really obeying them all the time, you're not anything more than a music student.
@BenMcCormack91 In other words, Art Tatum may have been a spoon, but your friend is a fork. To truly become one with the universe, she must learn the ways of the spork.
@BenMcCormack91 I think it's mainly blue notes and switching between major and minor thirds in the blues that she takes issue with or any jazzy playing "outside".
This song was mucho populare in De Kongo. We watch "Abango N ewsrell" and than we eats rice and Kongo beabs wit buttery sauze and then da boss conmes and saysa that enouf! Go backa to work! Life in da kONGO!
Ray Charles was another giant Tatum disciple. While Charles became a wonderful pianist, his humorous quote regarding Tatum was that he wasn't good enough to "carry Art Tatum's shit bucket.
...but don't u know that "midget slam dunking on a ten foot goal" is concidered todays talent. Regular people listening to Tatum regards his playing as "just another pianist" -sad but true
@Bashaleya1 , silly to say snobby , all the classical including concert pianists i've spoken to in warsaw agree he is a top player and very difficult to emulate
There never was a better pianist PERIOD. This wsas also said by Rachmaninov as well as Artur Rubinstein and countless others. In all of music it is said that he had no equal-PERIOD.
It's likely that there was a better pianist, but not a better recorded pianist. Given a few hundred years of piano playing before, there must have been someone to top him, but, until I hear a recording I will agree. I think it will be a very long time before we hear anyone who can come even close to a comparison.
I think many people miss the point about Art. To stereotype him into a certain genre or field [jazz, classical etc] is a mistake.
The simple fact is that he could play anything; he would have been totally comfortable playing the blues or fronting a symphony orchestra playing Rachmaninov.
Yes. I realize that jazz musicians develop over time a repertoire of favorite riffs, chord substitutions, voicings etc. that they use over and over again. Still, this performance is terrific by any standard, even if it was practiced and prepared note for note. And if only bits of this were improvised, that would be mind-boggling at this speed and technical precision.
I've just discovered Tatum. Speaking as someone who prefers classical music to jazz in general, I must say that this is the most phenomenal piano playing I've ever heard. And to think that he was improvising is beyond comprehension. He had to be the most astoundingly gifted pianist in history. If I could choose to magically play like any pianist who ever lived, it wouldn't be Horowitz or anyone else, it would be Art Tatum.
OscarPetersonFan-And Artur Rubinstein as well-I believe. They used to go to his concerts whenever it was possible. I believe it to have been Rubinstein who estimated how many lifetimes of practice that he would require in order to emulate.
I didn't know that, but I could supose it. I know there is a Tatum's recording of Rubinstein's "Melody in F". Actually I've got it here in the computer; I'm gonna listen to it again right now!
That's what I thought, but a friend told me that was Artur's composition. After that I never was sure about which Rubinstein was, but it's more plausible to Anton Rubinstein.
Art Tatum was one of those musicians who comes along about every 100 years or so; what he could HEAR, he could play; his music was such a mix of light classical, jazz, boogie, stride, salon music, etc, that it's almost impossible to put him in to a 'pigeon-hole" as one particular type of pianist.
His ability with chords has never been equalled by anybody. just a remarkable and unique pianist..period.
Just to ease your mind a bit: I don't think this was really improvised beyond some minor details. Notice how some of the passages (e.g. the stride bit) are repeated in a very similar way. And how do we know he didn't practise this? Finally, I'm pretty sure I've heard another take of this that is 99% similar.
When Oscar Peterson heard this recording at age 14, he said "Who are those guys? They're wild". When he realized that there was only one pianist, he felt intimidated, and he cried during several nights.
Says in my Night Train album that "After hearing Art Tatum pianists did either one of two things, gave up, or chose to strive for more. Peterson did the latter." Now that isn't verbatum, but its close.
I would choose Oscar over Art. Tatum was technically superior in every way. Oscar was pretty damn close but he innovated so many of those wonderful jazz chords and the timing Oscar had was second to none. I am talking 16th note triplets with a rest at the beginning leading into 32nd notes.
You may do well to remember that "nothing comes from nothing". Peterson, by his own admission, built upon what Tatum had pioneered. Tatum himself claimed that he "came from Fats Waller" - if you can belileve that! Nobody has come out of "no where" before or since Tatum!
Absolutely right. Tatum also came from Earl Hines, and other stride pianists. And Peterson, maybe because he appeared later, came from pianists like Tatum, Erroll Garner, Teddy Wilson, Waller and Nat King Cole (OP also sang Cole's songs in a tribute album in 1965 called "With Respect to Nat").
Once, Waller was playing, and when Tatum arrived he said: "I play piano, but God is in the house tonight".
amazing playing.... maybe the best solo piano jazz piece of them all... however, has anyone ever heard bobby enriquez play holiday for strings? dont want to get into comparing the two, but i still say bobby enriquez had another player with him when he did it because there's no way two hands can move that fast
When Mr. Tatum was young, being of limited eyesight, he learned to imitate player piano music rolls by fingering along. Nobody told him that there were four hands playing the music, so he learned to play all the parts with his two hands. Nothing limits a person's gift more than someone telling them it can't be done. Thank heaven that Art Tatum was one who went on to show that it could be done. His gift to us as a musician is immeasurable. Not only was his fingering flawless, but he kept time!
Hey! I'm a classical music-loving dude and I think this is off the charts. If anyone doesn't understand the genius behind this then they should go listen to some pop music or something. Art Tatum is an inspiration, from Horowitz to Shawn Lane, everyone appreciated his gift.
how about snobby fans of 70's and 80's music that think this is just too damn fast and too many notes? joshua rifkin has a lively yet sensitive touch for ragtime. tatum just burns through every song as if his ass was on fire.
should take in some thought about the time period and social conditions that art tatum was in/subject to. He was born in the early 1900s, not the greatest time to be African American so the only way he could get recognition as a musician was to be crazy awesome at piano (or an instrument of choice). the fast playing was, i assume, a way of just showing musical prowess for commercial purposes. and more so he didnt just "burn through every song" he just played songs faster and better than others.
just to clear this up: the last thing art wanted was to gain recognition for "commercial purposes." he was blind, black, and a jazz musician who was extremely modern for the period, giving him almost no chance of being a "commerical" success. and he never made much money. He played that way because it sounded good.
just hollow words of jealously made by idiots who cant play as well. "Too many notes" ? ha! Too many notes for your tiny brain to process. there is no such thing as too many notes, you fail.
kinggimped: arthur rubenstein, whom many regard as the greatest classical player since the era of sound recording, said if art tatum played classical music i'd be out of business. everyone who is a piano virtuoso can hear it and almost not believe it.
@kinggimped Any classical music lover who claims jazz musicians have inferior technique is clearly no musician. Any musician, wether he likes jazz or not, WILL agree that jazz is as complex as classic music is; in fact, it's almost like a completely different school at all. It's a more modern theory, and it's as complex and hard as the classical music is. The instruments change with the time, but the quality remains the same.
Who said jazz pianists have inferior technique? Good music is good music, and good musicians are good musicians. I don't care what time period it was written in or what style it was performed in; if it's good, it's good.
@madlutist this is soooo true, i should shove this remark up my stereotype classical lecturer's butt =m= i despise those childish people who divide music that way
@madlutist I understand where he's coming from in a sense; a lot of people, including classical purists, for some reason think that jazz musicians chaotically play whatever the hell they want, without rhyme or reason...
@supahsekzy Yeah, well, to be fair, there are bad, mediocre, and good practitioners in any art. The bad ones don't have good enough intuition OR technique to get there mind around what they're doing, the mediocre ones have either intuition or technique but not both, and only the truly great ones have both fabulous technique and a fabulous feel for what they do.
In improv, the bad ones tend to be most obvious, because unlike in classical music, they often aren't given anything to work off of.
@supahsekzy Logic and emotion are two sides of the same coin, and the more I talk with people about the differences between the two, the more I realize that noone can really agree on where one ends and the other begins.
In art especially, the difference between logic and emotion is not even worth identifying. Logical thought informs emotional pursuit, and emotion feeds logical pursuit. That process exists, however you want to describe it. No improvisations are truly "reason-less."
@madlutist While I won't go into why I disagree with the idea of logic and emotion being in essence the same thing (because they're not), I don't understand why emotion even came into the conversation. I'm talking on a technical level - people sometimes seem to hear more theoretical reason and harmonic organization behind classical music than jazz music. And the reason for this is that classical music generally doesn't have the harmonic complexity that jazz does.
@supahsekzy I didn't say logic and emotion were the same thing, I just meant they're interrelated. Regardless, sorry for misunderstanding your point.
I see what you mean, though interestingly, modern classical music tends to have similar harmonic complexity to jazz music written at the same time.
Jazz tends to emphasize harmony over linear structure (if one is favored at all), whereas classical tends to do the opposite (again, if one is favored). The best musicians tend to understand both.
@madlutist absolutely agree... besides Art Tatum was classicly trained and prolly had better technique than most pianists of his time... In fact the only thing keeping me from considering him the "perfect" pianist is that he didn't come up with very many diverse ideas...
@marcuswilespage lots of players in both the classical, and to an extent jazz genre, have mastered the piano, which is obvious for Art, but his true genius is the he creates spontaneously and disects melodies, and morphs averything including classical pieces into something that the original composer couldn;t do after sitting down forever to compose. he goes beyond everything.
When Art Tatum was little, he used to sit at a player piano while it played, and as the keys would go down, he would follow along. What nobody told him was that there were two pianists laying down the piano player roll, he just figured that is what the pianist did and nobody told him otherwise. So he learned to play all four hands. Mr. Tatum's work is the gold standard, and when a performing Fats Waller said "God is in the house" with Art Tatum's arrival, there was no debate. (From Liner notes)
What shocks me even more than his supernatural technique is the fact that he does this with only about 20% vision on his right eye. I mean... does he even look at his hands when he plays this?????
being blind actually somewhat gives him an advantage. he learned the piano by understanding where the keys are and without visual cues; he felt the location of keys and nkows wheres notes are without looking: that is the sign of a true pianist
Say, credman, can you post Tatum's version of "I Would Do Anything For You" from the Standard Transcriptions? That is my personal favorite Tatum recording. Thanks!
My favorite version. Recorded December, 1935 in New York City and available on two separate 2CD sets: 'Standard Transcriptions' on 'Storyville Records' (from Denmark) or 'Music & Arts Program of America'.
For more piano insanity search for 'Circus Gallop Player Piano' -- or search WFMU for Conlon Nancarrow's 'Study No. 3a for Player Piano" on February 26, 2002. It starts at 27:38 and lasts 3min 20sec.
About the only things to stop Tatum in his tracks, though I think he'd laugh at both.
i don't think i ever heard this version. i am slack-jawed. i seriously can't understand how a human being can play like this. his runs and scales are so fast and clean they almost sound like glissandos. i have played his transcriptions but this one i don't even touch. awesome post credman. thank you for sharing
YOU'RE RIGHT man! I can play tenths OK and my fast stride is improving little by little, but that's still what gets me, are fast runs and single-note passagework etc. especially in the right hand. That's why I still can't play Chopin etc. Sure it's easy for some other pianists, but then the stride part and octaves etc. is hard... it usually balances out. Terrific recording!
Not many people surprise me in this world but this guy... I find him truly unbelievable. How? How? How?
Redflowers9 1 week ago
man, i don't even think the speed of LIGHT is that fast and accurate.
ballvl1 3 weeks ago
@twooffour, I don't doubt your comments. Most jazz pianists do have great dexterity in the fingers. This allows them to play Mozart, Bach, Haydn pretty well technically. Give them Liszt and Rachmaninoff....I assure you their weaknesses will be exposed. Oscar and Art are the few Jazz greats with no weakness technically. Unless you're a virtuoso pianist yourself, you would not understand my statements. So you have your right to your views. I'm stating the facts.
Naltino 1 month ago
@Naltino Why would playing Liszt and Rachmaninoff expose their weaknesses? and which weaknesses are you referring to, specifically? I'm just curious. I'm also curious how you'd rank Herbie Hancock relative to Tatum and Peterson; I'd always thought that he was one of the better jazz pianists as well. And Patrice Rushen, if you could count her.
Aaronthegreatest 1 month ago
HOLY FUCK!!!!
filmandcomposition 1 month ago
Inferior technique??? Yup, just plain sloppy period.
paullubliner 2 months ago
@paullubliner
tsk tsk you imbecelic classical pianist.
smh
minnesotafan117 1 month ago
@minnesotafan117: Imbecilic. Right. Sloppy is SLOPPY! I'm a 'Celiist/Guitarist. Own and play 3 Strats. What do you play and how well ie: any scholarships to music schools when you were nine and twelve and on, perhaps? Can you play anything besides the stereo?
paullubliner 1 month ago
@paullubliner
Im 21 and i have been playing the piano all my life, i gained a full scholarship to the music university in warsaw when i was 13. I am currently teaching young children how to play the instrument. I major in jazz/improvisations, yet for 15 years I studied/played classical music and harmony. I carefully listen to tatums tiger rag and i hear a god-like technique considering i am currently playing a different arrangment of this piece. this thoroughly explains who i am.
minnesotafan117 3 weeks ago
@paullubliner
and btw what may you possibaly know about the forte-piano and its technical ways if you are a so called "guitarist...."
minnesotafan117 3 weeks ago
@minnesotafan117: Yes I do know a bit about it, Harpsichord plucking as well. My school was affiliated with the Paris Conservatory. I was accepted on a full scholarship at 12 with a Vivaldi piece and finished with the Lalo Cello Concerto after many Masters Classes, Solfege, Dictation, Theory, Harmony and Composition. Yes the "Soft-loud," sure only a tiny-little-bit. LOL! He was sloppy, that's all. You at 21 are still rebelling and not even aware. In time you will understand.
paullubliner 3 weeks ago
@paullubliner
i still dont understand how you may know how the piano technique works but ok.
lets call it a truce shall we not?
minnesotafan117 3 weeks ago
@minnesotafan117: I didn't say he wasn't really good did I? All I accurately said was that he was sloppy. This is great fun BUT, I stand by my comment. The issue with "sloppy," is that no two takes are reliably the same. In other words, this freestyle type of playing is ONLY for a soloist, not even useable for duets or trios. That's why Jazz insists upon "trading fours" etc. as the main focus of performing as opposed the brilliance of Beethoven's Archduke trio and the like.
paullubliner 3 weeks ago
@paullubliner What do you mean by "sloppy"?
Santosificationable 3 weeks ago
@paullubliner Also, why contrast Beethoven and Tatum when they're most probably on the same musical level?
Santosificationable 2 weeks ago
@paullubliner You're a "cellist/guitarist" and you say things like "inferior technique??? Yup...." to a PIANIST who has been admired by Rachmaninoff? I don't think this is the time and place to make jokes like that, doode (unless you don't know what the word "Rachmaninoff" means, in which case your comment IS funny).
Santosificationable 3 weeks ago
@Santosificationable Rachmaninoff dedicated his second piano concerto to his therapist in 1905, he was NUTS!
paullubliner 3 weeks ago
To Credman, Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson are the exceptions to the rule. They are not just virtuosos....they are SUPERVIRTUOSOS. There's no weakness in their playing. Using Art as a representative of the typical jazz pianist is like using Michael Jordan as the typical NBA player. Most jazz pianists do have bad techniques. Don't try to prove this fact as false by using Art Tatum. He and Oscar are in a class by themselves.
Naltino 3 months ago
@Naltino
Most jazz pianists I'VE seen play extremely accurately.
twooffour 1 month ago
Astonishing
Schizopantheist 4 months ago
It looks like 5 deaf arseholes need their fingers removing with pliers...
TheStig678 4 months ago
Art Tatum, thru some God-given 6th sense, was able to play a piano on such an elevated level, it's almost too much music for the average listener. Truly a unique musician.
brabazon10 5 months ago
I remember an interview with Les Paul in which he said he was originally a pianist but turned to the guitar after hearing Tatum play!
The great classical pianist Horowitz spent ages learning to play Tatum's version of Tea for Two
123snowball 5 months ago
@123snowball I don't know where you got you're information regarding Horowitz learning Art Tatum version of Tea for Two. However you can tell from the brief footage of Horowitz playing tea for two that he knew Tatum's 1933 recording of the song.
pianiplunker 3 months ago
We should have just sent Art Tatum overseas to fight WWII, or any war for that matter...he would've evaporated the Nazis with sound waves!
Hyperclefonical598 6 months ago
5 people can´t hear that fast!
bwbhsk 6 months ago 12
Now what if there were 2 Tatums at one piano? O_O
That would be like crossing the tractor beams in Ghostbusters
beard295 7 months ago
Liszt? Rachmaninoff? Chopin? Gieseking? Shnabel? Rubinstein? Horowitz? TATUM!
theMarsFusion 7 months ago
omg this is inhuman!
how can he play like that, fast and without error?!?!
true virtuoso
chickenfinger90 8 months ago
@credman From what album is this?
Santosificationable 8 months ago
This proves that one man is better than Chuck Norris.
Santosificationable 8 months ago 21
Comment removed
Santosificationable 8 months ago
without doubt, the most naturally gifted pianist in history.
brabazon10 9 months ago
Art Tatum deserves better than a shitty livetraced photo of his face.
Sactreats 9 months ago 3
ce morceau est trop beau pour etre si MAL joue!!! ce n est pas du classique ca doit se danser! et ce n rst pas non plus du woogie. its not the BEST....au contrairez.
denon98 10 months ago
@denon98
a silly frog you are, funy
garbidz 5 months ago
Any negative posters here, i'd like to see you post a video of a perfect performance of tiger rag at any tempo like this. Assholes.
pianolicious134 11 months ago 4
@pianolicious134 Do you always call people assholes? Pretty immature.
123eldest 6 months ago
When I first heard Art Tatum play, I thought the recording device had malfunctioned because no human being could play that quickly and clearly, but... Art Tatum could and did...
tw69hands2 11 months ago
That's some hot piano! On fire baby!
CHanfordB 11 months ago
Fractals in music :D
YbborUberAlles 11 months ago
@bazzatt1 uhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHH so? I could care much less that it's one scale improvisation. as a pianist i can tell you that for a piece like this, that hardly matters because it's incredibly difficult to play regardless. why don't you give it a whirl hotshot.
FunkadelicMaestro 1 year ago
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HE'S USING THE SAME SCALE,IMPROVISATION,OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
JUST BECAUSE IS FAST,THAT DOES NOT MEAN IT'S GREAT.
GROW UP IDIOTS!!!!!
bazzatt1 1 year ago
@bazzatt1 ...You play it then.
Igjlos 1 year ago 3
This has been flagged as spam show
@bazzatt1 how does it feel to be human garbage?
jcracker 11 months ago
@bazzatt1 just because he is using the same scale does not mean that it is bad
CHanfordB 11 months ago
Comment removed
tw69hands2 11 months ago
@bazzatt1 you are honestly a dill weed, to not honor the past, and disrespect the only person who has ever cruised across the keys that quickly, and on top of that Herbie Hancock who I know you probably have a deep admiration would say that he is yet unable to do that. But since you are so nice on the keys, I am going to keep my eyes open on youtube to see your video performing this piece.
willimorgan23 11 months ago
@bazzatt1 I actually didn't appreciate Mr. Tatum as much when i first heard him...until i went and tried to play an arranged piece by him, umm... i think it was an arrangement of elegy, and i am still well, fascinated with his creativity, because he could compose works as ingenius as Rachmoninov, emotional as Chopin, and technical as Liszt....except that the majority of his works were spontaneous and improvisational, as quickly gone as they had been made.... this is Mr. Tatum's real genius.
Spryt07 10 months ago
oh yeah...and he was mostly blind....you've probably seen more piano's than he did, but can't play more masterpieces than he did....
Spryt07 10 months ago
@bazzatt1 Will you please tell me the one scale he is improvising over? He is cleary playing the changes. Besides, listen to that left hand man! wow!...Also you should transcribe this before you call anyone an idiot. Thank you and good night
blehblehbleh111ify 8 months ago
Only one word I can think of: 'amazing'. Like...wow!
cyberlarry7 1 year ago
Who cares about complexity.
This is about the soul and the way music can move you.
This rendition does that.
Marvellous!
Jellybeantiger 1 year ago
The incomparable GOD of jazz piano!
SirGaul 1 year ago
You have to keep in mind that he CREATED these arrangements from scratch. It's almost more impressive that he played the same complex arrangement and memorized it than played something different each time. He was able to take the worst run down song and make it into a masterpiece.
salvadorsimp 1 year ago 3
Piano Abuse !!!
jnmshmacm 1 year ago 2
Famous!!!!
Mihon54 1 year ago 3
I think my brain just snapped.
jmkeller 1 year ago 3
...
this is far beyond good and evil
wedgim 1 year ago 2
Classically-trained here.. I always knew Tatum was phenomenal.. That's before I found out he was also blind. How someone can play like this without eyes to see is simply mind-boggling. It's practically inconceivable. This is human achievement at its highest level.
PENNSY671E 1 year ago 4
wow wow, Mr Tatum surely had a flying hands.... Thanks for posting it!
tattaglia 1 year ago 2
Big mistake to be talking about classical, jazz, or any other style, in regard to Art Tatum. He was simply one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century...or any other century. He was playing on a plane seemingly way above others, and the speed of his thought is almost too much to take in at one sitting.
Tragically taken away from the music world far too young. Staggering playing.
brabazon10 1 year ago
Sviastzlov Richter said Art was the world's best pianist!
ddanze 1 year ago
Classical musicians often live in glass houses.
JehericoC 1 year ago
Warning- listening to art tatum for more than 5 miliseconds causes your mind and soul to be taken over by his talent.
JamesPriceJohnson 1 year ago 5
WHAT SKILL, WHAT THRILLS!!!! hE'S SO SUPPLE IT GIVES ME THE CHILLS!!!!! fabulously lush, sweet ,tickles and stabs at the same time. A true success. Can't mess wit it naw!!!
TheSunIsBlack 1 year ago
Why don't they have this on "Betcha Can't Play This"? It would be the hardest one...
hansen6102 1 year ago
Thrilling.
chabird 1 year ago
I know a classical pianist who's got the "if it's not classical, it's slop" attitude. I didn't understand where she was coming from but I figured out that she was under the impression that the techniques of classical apply to all music - blues, jazz, eastern, what have you. It's like saying French cooking is the only way to prepare food and every other culture has failed.
socksandpistols 1 year ago
Plus she can rip, but only if it's on the page. Without sheet music she can't so much as improvise over a simple I-IV-V progression - what is that about?
socksandpistols 1 year ago
@socksandpistols Classical techniques *do* apply to every type of music. But it depends on which techniques you're talking about.
My technical rule is that music needs to feel as if it's got a direction. As long as it has that, you can at least hold the listener's attention.
Sonata form? Species counterpoint? They're helpful guidelines, but if you're really obeying them all the time, you're not anything more than a music student.
BenMcCormack91 1 year ago
@BenMcCormack91 In other words, Art Tatum may have been a spoon, but your friend is a fork. To truly become one with the universe, she must learn the ways of the spork.
BenMcCormack91 1 year ago
@BenMcCormack91 I think it's mainly blue notes and switching between major and minor thirds in the blues that she takes issue with or any jazzy playing "outside".
socksandpistols 1 year ago
@socksandpistols I bet she has perfect pitch.
BenMcCormack91 1 year ago
he's on fire! wow!!
tonydjangolopez 1 year ago
let's dont forget the wonderfull playing of osacr peterson when you watch this.
vankarton 1 year ago
As if the speed weren't enough, he always plays half the piece in a Debussy style whole tones - mixed in - unpredictably - absolutely incredible !
govbop 1 year ago
This song was mucho populare in De Kongo. We watch "Abango N ewsrell" and than we eats rice and Kongo beabs wit buttery sauze and then da boss conmes and saysa that enouf! Go backa to work! Life in da kONGO!
BrokenneckYgor 1 year ago
he did that with just two hands and only 10 fingers?! geez!!
chrisz71 1 year ago 2
Someone give him a speeding ticket.
BasementBeginnings 1 year ago 6
Ray Charles was another giant Tatum disciple. While Charles became a wonderful pianist, his humorous quote regarding Tatum was that he wasn't good enough to "carry Art Tatum's shit bucket.
saverioman 2 years ago 3
Art Tatum playing this song solo, to me, is more impressive than a 200 pound midget slam dunking on a ten foot goal.
jnmshmacm 2 years ago
...but don't u know that "midget slam dunking on a ten foot goal" is concidered todays talent. Regular people listening to Tatum regards his playing as "just another pianist" -sad but true
emet79 1 year ago
@emet79 This isnt for everyone! Sometimes a prophet is a stranger in his own country.
samadjhi 1 year ago
@jnmshmacm
*chuckle*
I love your analogy.
polymath7 1 year ago
That man is unbelieveable!
Alberad08 2 years ago
surely America's greatest baroque musician in history, irrespective of musical genre.
brabazon10 2 years ago
@brabazon10 I think I understand it!
Alberad08 2 years ago
oh my god
shakermaker92 2 years ago
He improvises like Chopin and modulates like Mozart!
-- Snobby classical music lover
Bashaleya1 2 years ago
@Bashaleya1 , silly to say snobby , all the classical including concert pianists i've spoken to in warsaw agree he is a top player and very difficult to emulate
fingerscarr 2 years ago
There never was a better pianist PERIOD. This wsas also said by Rachmaninov as well as Artur Rubinstein and countless others. In all of music it is said that he had no equal-PERIOD.
paulostroff99 2 years ago
It's likely that there was a better pianist, but not a better recorded pianist. Given a few hundred years of piano playing before, there must have been someone to top him, but, until I hear a recording I will agree. I think it will be a very long time before we hear anyone who can come even close to a comparison.
MacktheFilet 2 years ago 3
You know, on the internet, you don't need to write out the whole word. The period is just one key.
FatManRedemption 2 years ago
Amazing player Art Tatum. Somebody told me he used to sit there with a pitcher of beer on the piano and do incredible things. Really was a genius.
mturbevi 2 years ago
cool
JulesMan012 2 years ago
This is fucking absurd.
It's like watching someone sprint across a tightrope.
polymath7 2 years ago 37
lol
KeyaBrown 1 year ago
@polymath7 TAKE THAT 4 JUSTIN BIEBER FANS.Lets see Bieber do that.
860125mwj 8 months ago
my god i can see his fingers now, man thats nice, you cant get any better than this guy my friends
Turkeydoodlers 2 years ago 2
I think many people miss the point about Art. To stereotype him into a certain genre or field [jazz, classical etc] is a mistake.
The simple fact is that he could play anything; he would have been totally comfortable playing the blues or fronting a symphony orchestra playing Rachmaninov.
What a huge talent he was!
PJA
brabazon10 2 years ago 11
I'd love to hear him play Mozart or Bach.
Or Chopin or Liszt.
polymath7 2 years ago
He'd probably do a better job of it than Rachmaninov himself too.
"He has better technique than any other living pianist, and may be the greatest ever." - Direct quote from Sergei himself.
froggerchanovsky 2 years ago 4
He is a 3-head BEAST sitting at the piano.
musicolorhythm 2 years ago 5
The GOD of jazz piano!!! ART TATUM!
deathheim1 2 years ago 26
@deathheim1 no, he is not god, he is the father of god of the piano.
Jigov 1 year ago
Sublime!
gmullin 2 years ago 4
Yes. I realize that jazz musicians develop over time a repertoire of favorite riffs, chord substitutions, voicings etc. that they use over and over again. Still, this performance is terrific by any standard, even if it was practiced and prepared note for note. And if only bits of this were improvised, that would be mind-boggling at this speed and technical precision.
HarpoMarx22 2 years ago 3
I've just discovered Tatum. Speaking as someone who prefers classical music to jazz in general, I must say that this is the most phenomenal piano playing I've ever heard. And to think that he was improvising is beyond comprehension. He had to be the most astoundingly gifted pianist in history. If I could choose to magically play like any pianist who ever lived, it wouldn't be Horowitz or anyone else, it would be Art Tatum.
HarpoMarx22 2 years ago 8
Actually, Tatum was the favourite pianist of Horowitz, Rachmaninoff and Gershwin.
OscarPetersonFan 2 years ago 8
OscarPetersonFan-And Artur Rubinstein as well-I believe. They used to go to his concerts whenever it was possible. I believe it to have been Rubinstein who estimated how many lifetimes of practice that he would require in order to emulate.
paulostroff99 2 years ago 3
I didn't know that, but I could supose it. I know there is a Tatum's recording of Rubinstein's "Melody in F". Actually I've got it here in the computer; I'm gonna listen to it again right now!
OscarPetersonFan 2 years ago
OscarPetersonFan-That would not be the same Rubinstein,Artur the pianist,but Anton the composer. Listen especially to his Chopin.
paulostroff99 2 years ago
That's what I thought, but a friend told me that was Artur's composition. After that I never was sure about which Rubinstein was, but it's more plausible to Anton Rubinstein.
OscarPetersonFan 2 years ago
Art Tatum was one of those musicians who comes along about every 100 years or so; what he could HEAR, he could play; his music was such a mix of light classical, jazz, boogie, stride, salon music, etc, that it's almost impossible to put him in to a 'pigeon-hole" as one particular type of pianist.
His ability with chords has never been equalled by anybody. just a remarkable and unique pianist..period.
brabazon10 2 years ago 2
Just to ease your mind a bit: I don't think this was really improvised beyond some minor details. Notice how some of the passages (e.g. the stride bit) are repeated in a very similar way. And how do we know he didn't practise this? Finally, I'm pretty sure I've heard another take of this that is 99% similar.
whatsmylogin 2 years ago
When Oscar Peterson heard this recording at age 14, he said "Who are those guys? They're wild". When he realized that there was only one pianist, he felt intimidated, and he cried during several nights.
OscarPetersonFan 2 years ago 4
Says in my Night Train album that "After hearing Art Tatum pianists did either one of two things, gave up, or chose to strive for more. Peterson did the latter." Now that isn't verbatum, but its close.
I would choose Oscar over Art. Tatum was technically superior in every way. Oscar was pretty damn close but he innovated so many of those wonderful jazz chords and the timing Oscar had was second to none. I am talking 16th note triplets with a rest at the beginning leading into 32nd notes.
EuphoricDan 2 years ago
Yes! I completely agree with you!
OscarPetersonFan 2 years ago
You may do well to remember that "nothing comes from nothing". Peterson, by his own admission, built upon what Tatum had pioneered. Tatum himself claimed that he "came from Fats Waller" - if you can belileve that! Nobody has come out of "no where" before or since Tatum!
sgivas 2 years ago
Absolutely right. Tatum also came from Earl Hines, and other stride pianists. And Peterson, maybe because he appeared later, came from pianists like Tatum, Erroll Garner, Teddy Wilson, Waller and Nat King Cole (OP also sang Cole's songs in a tribute album in 1965 called "With Respect to Nat").
Once, Waller was playing, and when Tatum arrived he said: "I play piano, but God is in the house tonight".
OscarPetersonFan 2 years ago
art tatum makes you feel so alive
mahoose6 2 years ago
Incredible. Jeeez.
As well as having four arms, Art Tatum must have had two brains: one for his left-hand side and the other for the right.
fillra 2 years ago 5
amazing playing.... maybe the best solo piano jazz piece of them all... however, has anyone ever heard bobby enriquez play holiday for strings? dont want to get into comparing the two, but i still say bobby enriquez had another player with him when he did it because there's no way two hands can move that fast
slapmyfunkybass 2 years ago
....and he did this all while barely able to see. Incredible playing.
robroy234 2 years ago
When Mr. Tatum was young, being of limited eyesight, he learned to imitate player piano music rolls by fingering along. Nobody told him that there were four hands playing the music, so he learned to play all the parts with his two hands. Nothing limits a person's gift more than someone telling them it can't be done. Thank heaven that Art Tatum was one who went on to show that it could be done. His gift to us as a musician is immeasurable. Not only was his fingering flawless, but he kept time!
KPO6859 2 years ago 2
Hey! I'm a classical music-loving dude and I think this is off the charts. If anyone doesn't understand the genius behind this then they should go listen to some pop music or something. Art Tatum is an inspiration, from Horowitz to Shawn Lane, everyone appreciated his gift.
KeithWhalen11 2 years ago
Tatum was a great pianist and , although the sound quality of this video is not very good, it demonstrates the stature of Tatum.
PS: I recommend the exceptional album (I have the vinyl album) with Art Tatum/Ben Webster and Red Callender /Bill Douglas.
The sound quality is good and it contains beautiful melodies as , for excample, "Gone With th Wind" and "Night and Day"
(Unfortunately, today, on Amazon the used CD costs US$ 208.)
ClassicalOJazz 2 years ago
I mean no disrespect, but did he have four arms?
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. The Legendary Maestro Art Tatum, RIP.
whitephoenixofcrown 2 years ago 3
I heard Horowitz was jealous of Tatum's left hand. Talk about a compliment!
awefaislfdas 2 years ago 3
Beautiful!
mwhite36 2 years ago
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goramssoccer 2 years ago
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goramssoccer 2 years ago
You just got to be glad this guy existed. It's not just the staggering skill, it's the soul with which he played. God bless indeed.
Benderuuuuu 2 years ago 2
P.S. at the "inferior technique" argument - Peterson?
Benderuuuuu 2 years ago 2
god bless art tatum...
idledevils 2 years ago
how about snobby fans of 70's and 80's music that think this is just too damn fast and too many notes? joshua rifkin has a lively yet sensitive touch for ragtime. tatum just burns through every song as if his ass was on fire.
ajdicks 3 years ago
should take in some thought about the time period and social conditions that art tatum was in/subject to. He was born in the early 1900s, not the greatest time to be African American so the only way he could get recognition as a musician was to be crazy awesome at piano (or an instrument of choice). the fast playing was, i assume, a way of just showing musical prowess for commercial purposes. and more so he didnt just "burn through every song" he just played songs faster and better than others.
mikeandmike 3 years ago
just to clear this up: the last thing art wanted was to gain recognition for "commercial purposes." he was blind, black, and a jazz musician who was extremely modern for the period, giving him almost no chance of being a "commerical" success. and he never made much money. He played that way because it sounded good.
KJshackx3 2 years ago
ajdicks:
this is an amazing achievement; to be able to play the piece at that speed and all those notes, and to improvise on the whole thing like that?!?!
you're are an incredibly dumb person to hate on this song
and can you play it?
oh, you can't? didn't think so
just shut the fuck up
theclockkiller 2 years ago
just hollow words of jealously made by idiots who cant play as well. "Too many notes" ? ha! Too many notes for your tiny brain to process. there is no such thing as too many notes, you fail.
boredgamesguy 2 years ago
it's the same damn thing they said to Mozart for an opera of his...
VolkColopatrion 2 years ago
The Greatest!
Unbelievable
barnoca26 3 years ago 8
This has been flagged as spam show
I just don't like how fast he always plays. I haven't been able to feel any heart and soul from him.
MusicBeautyLove 3 years ago
art tatum flawless as always
blah148 3 years ago 8
This has been flagged as spam show
fine pianist i just dont like the piece
callenishss 3 years ago
Any classical music lover who claims jazz musicians have inferior technique should be taken outside and shot.
This is an incredible rendition of the Tiger Rag!
kinggimped 3 years ago 15
kinggimped: arthur rubenstein, whom many regard as the greatest classical player since the era of sound recording, said if art tatum played classical music i'd be out of business. everyone who is a piano virtuoso can hear it and almost not believe it.
alejhombre 2 years ago
I've heard the same thing, but about Horowitz.
Anyhow, the point is clear.
wleikko 2 years ago
Vlad, the other true maestro...maybe they both said it.
alejhombre 2 years ago
Aye... Well, quite possible :)
wleikko 2 years ago
@kinggimped Any classical music lover who claims jazz musicians have inferior technique is clearly no musician. Any musician, wether he likes jazz or not, WILL agree that jazz is as complex as classic music is; in fact, it's almost like a completely different school at all. It's a more modern theory, and it's as complex and hard as the classical music is. The instruments change with the time, but the quality remains the same.
Johnga2004 1 year ago
Who said jazz pianists have inferior technique? Good music is good music, and good musicians are good musicians. I don't care what time period it was written in or what style it was performed in; if it's good, it's good.
madlutist 3 years ago 25
@madlutist this is soooo true, i should shove this remark up my stereotype classical lecturer's butt =m= i despise those childish people who divide music that way
Ken2Kanzeon 1 year ago
@madlutist I understand where he's coming from in a sense; a lot of people, including classical purists, for some reason think that jazz musicians chaotically play whatever the hell they want, without rhyme or reason...
supahsekzy 1 year ago
@supahsekzy Yeah, well, to be fair, there are bad, mediocre, and good practitioners in any art. The bad ones don't have good enough intuition OR technique to get there mind around what they're doing, the mediocre ones have either intuition or technique but not both, and only the truly great ones have both fabulous technique and a fabulous feel for what they do.
In improv, the bad ones tend to be most obvious, because unlike in classical music, they often aren't given anything to work off of.
madlutist 1 year ago
@madlutist Right, but I've heard this "reason-less playing" comment been made of players who are of the utmost of improvisational caliber.
supahsekzy 1 year ago
@supahsekzy Logic and emotion are two sides of the same coin, and the more I talk with people about the differences between the two, the more I realize that noone can really agree on where one ends and the other begins.
In art especially, the difference between logic and emotion is not even worth identifying. Logical thought informs emotional pursuit, and emotion feeds logical pursuit. That process exists, however you want to describe it. No improvisations are truly "reason-less."
madlutist 1 year ago
@madlutist While I won't go into why I disagree with the idea of logic and emotion being in essence the same thing (because they're not), I don't understand why emotion even came into the conversation. I'm talking on a technical level - people sometimes seem to hear more theoretical reason and harmonic organization behind classical music than jazz music. And the reason for this is that classical music generally doesn't have the harmonic complexity that jazz does.
supahsekzy 1 year ago
@supahsekzy I didn't say logic and emotion were the same thing, I just meant they're interrelated. Regardless, sorry for misunderstanding your point.
I see what you mean, though interestingly, modern classical music tends to have similar harmonic complexity to jazz music written at the same time.
Jazz tends to emphasize harmony over linear structure (if one is favored at all), whereas classical tends to do the opposite (again, if one is favored). The best musicians tend to understand both.
madlutist 1 year ago
@madlutist absolutely agree... besides Art Tatum was classicly trained and prolly had better technique than most pianists of his time... In fact the only thing keeping me from considering him the "perfect" pianist is that he didn't come up with very many diverse ideas...
marcuswilespage 1 year ago
@marcuswilespage lots of players in both the classical, and to an extent jazz genre, have mastered the piano, which is obvious for Art, but his true genius is the he creates spontaneously and disects melodies, and morphs averything including classical pieces into something that the original composer couldn;t do after sitting down forever to compose. he goes beyond everything.
raleiti 1 year ago 4
My favorite version of Tiger Rag is from 1944 for the Decca label...
dstol62 3 years ago
When Art Tatum was little, he used to sit at a player piano while it played, and as the keys would go down, he would follow along. What nobody told him was that there were two pianists laying down the piano player roll, he just figured that is what the pianist did and nobody told him otherwise. So he learned to play all four hands. Mr. Tatum's work is the gold standard, and when a performing Fats Waller said "God is in the house" with Art Tatum's arrival, there was no debate. (From Liner notes)
KPO6859 3 years ago 8
What shocks me even more than his supernatural technique is the fact that he does this with only about 20% vision on his right eye. I mean... does he even look at his hands when he plays this?????
BRazor78 3 years ago 5
No. watch any vids he plays. he just kinda...looks into the audience. it's crazy
ugnex3 3 years ago 5
being blind actually somewhat gives him an advantage. he learned the piano by understanding where the keys are and without visual cues; he felt the location of keys and nkows wheres notes are without looking: that is the sign of a true pianist
aodessey 3 years ago 3
Say, credman, can you post Tatum's version of "I Would Do Anything For You" from the Standard Transcriptions? That is my personal favorite Tatum recording. Thanks!
KawhackitaRag 3 years ago
My favorite version. Recorded December, 1935 in New York City and available on two separate 2CD sets: 'Standard Transcriptions' on 'Storyville Records' (from Denmark) or 'Music & Arts Program of America'.
For more piano insanity search for 'Circus Gallop Player Piano' -- or search WFMU for Conlon Nancarrow's 'Study No. 3a for Player Piano" on February 26, 2002. It starts at 27:38 and lasts 3min 20sec.
About the only things to stop Tatum in his tracks, though I think he'd laugh at both.
borbetomagus 3 years ago
Art Tatum is both "past" and "present"!
CBasie2856 3 years ago
And future, mind you. ;)
Well108 3 years ago
Killer...Nobody can´t like this.
soyeonpark 3 years ago 19
i don't think i ever heard this version. i am slack-jawed. i seriously can't understand how a human being can play like this. his runs and scales are so fast and clean they almost sound like glissandos. i have played his transcriptions but this one i don't even touch. awesome post credman. thank you for sharing
brianCIM 3 years ago 3
YOU'RE RIGHT man! I can play tenths OK and my fast stride is improving little by little, but that's still what gets me, are fast runs and single-note passagework etc. especially in the right hand. That's why I still can't play Chopin etc. Sure it's easy for some other pianists, but then the stride part and octaves etc. is hard... it usually balances out. Terrific recording!
KawhackitaRag 3 years ago
OMG each time I hear this it sends chills up and down my spine....