@dilaudud Well, this song is actually 3 songs, Stars and Stripes Forever, and two other songs, i forgot what they were it's in a bio, Art sometimes integrated parts of different songs into his improvisations because of his amazing memory. See Art was kind of mocking the original writer of this song, because he thought that this type of music was taken to seriously, so this is sort of like a parody lol.
My understanding is that it was all improvization- never played the same tune the same way ever. What he didn't do was compose. Wrote only one tune, battery bounce.
A great book for stealing Art's licks is by Riccardo Scivales,, The right hand according to Tatum,,Ekay music inc,,,, After I got married, my wife quit her job of helping me being able to combine sex with happy hour piano playing,,,, even jewelry wouldn't help lol
@helmut4lyfe Video tape was introduced in 1957, the year after Tatum died. He was filmed on many occasions. people today use "video" to describe moving film.
@helmut4lyfe Actually video tape technology was still in developmental stages when Art Tatum died in 1956. Most "videos" of Tatum playing are kinescopes.
@RagPianoFan & @helmut4lyfe:: the WONDERFUL news is that kinescope technology improved way beyond the look & feel of the early visual-quality; so if we can find more GREAT old kinescope reels, we can discover MANY more GREAT musical performances;-).. & current digital techniques can help deal w/ problems so that in the end, ALOT of the great old performances might look truly amazing =][=
@helmut4lyfe Tatum died in '56 .. He'd been playing all this stuff and more in after-hours clubs since the 20s, and most of his later years were spent actually in the recording studio ... There wouldn't have been a lot of chances to video tape him live.
@TheMikester307 Guys like him lived on steak and booze back then. George Gershwin, Kurt Wile, Louis Jordan and more all lived the good life and keeled over around age 50.
@loggancun....I can't figure these people out either. They come here to listen to Tatum, then end up debating each other while critiquing, and editorializing Tatum's genious... "marries technical brilliance with a great musicality"...WTF!!! Just shut up and enjoy what you came here for...Tatum! Geeze!
Most important thing for me about Art Tatum is that he was a pianist purely and simply. He had to seek a career in contemporary music, as it was unthinkable in the racist US in the 20s and 30s for a black guy to play with white symphony orchestras. He had more ability than most white pianists, and this is borne out by many of his recordings.
His ability to seek new harmonies, and rework popular songs has never been matched, either before or since. A truly unique musician.
He didn't just have more ability than white pianists but than pretty much EVERY pianist! What I love about Tatum (and Django) is that he marries technical brilliance with a great musicality so that his flurries of notes are not just gratuitous and showing off, they sound musical! (unlike Al di Meola)
Well said Oct212006, I couldn't agree with you more. To simply listen and absorb a bit of this wonderful and uniquely gifted man every now and then is all I need to lift my spirits and make me smile in wonder.
tatum wasn't just a musician - he was like einstein or newton or tesla... he was that elusive genius that comes to us once every few generations to show us what we are capable of if we get our heads out of our asses and quick bickering with each other over the petty and imaginary concerns of society.
Wishful thinking - not everyone who "lays down the bickering over petty concerns of society" (and I really hope you just mean the petty and imaginary ones, because there are important ones, as well), will be able to achieve supreme results in arts or science ;)
This is yet another great vid, but why do great vids always come with stupid comments? Just saying you guys should safe the effort of trying to convince others about the true idols out there. Don't bother!
The more I listen to it, more and more of the subtlety of his playing and the music's underlying rhythmic structure is unveiled. To simply put it: yes, he is Art.
come on guys.... it's just good music to drink beer on, nod your head, feel happy, look at a girl... those guys wouldn't give a shit about your comments.
yes, great quality can go unrecognized and mediocre stuff can be lionized. as for the rest, you've lost me. i like tatum and hope to like him more with more exposure. i just hate all this "he's a god" stuff (which i know you personally didn't say) - i guess that set me off. ok? nuff said?
I definitely understand how you could tire of that phrase because it's definitely said enough and if taken literally, the phrase doesn't even mean anything to me. I just assumed this was a way people express a strong sentiment, albeit in a different way that I express it
He is called a "God", because there is no accurate analogy to describe how much better he is than anybody else at the keyboard. Babe Ruth's homerun record has been broken, Michael Jordan wasn't the best basketball player in all statistics. Nobody has been so far out at #1 than Tatum is at the piano. He makes Oscar Peterson, somebody I admire and think the world of, pale in comparison.
Al Haig, Abdullah Ibrahim, Mary-Lou Williams, Bud Powell, Cecil Taylor, Ray Bryant: these are proper comparisons, not sports stars. Art is NOT a f***ing sport! Its purpose is to MOVE people. I couldn't give a dog's hind end how FAST a pianist plays (Cecil Taylor probably does play more notes than Art but it's IRRELEVANT and BORING) or how many chord changes (like the boring Bill Evans whose pieces seem endless and tiresome) It's how deeply he MOVES you.
Tatum has more chord progressions than anybody of his time. He was decades ahead of his time in theory, and thousands of years ahead in his dexterity. I wasn't comparing Tatum to the sports stars. I was merely saying, there is no other area of life where one person has single handedly dominated his competition so amazingly.
Yes, you DID compare him to sports stars. It is in print above for all to see. You also have not replied to any comments about MOVING people. Other pianists were NOT Art's COMPETITION but his COLLEAGUES. AGAIN the sports analogy! ART ISN'T SPORTS!
is everyone that disagrees with you stupid? the word competitor on webster's revised unabridged is defined as one who seeks what another seeks, and the second obscure meaning is noted as an associate, or confederate. your argument as my tiny brain understood it was that colleagues were not competitors, but by the above definition what could competitors be if not colleagues? going back to the sports comparison you hate so much can you tell me why peyton manning and tom brady aren't colleagues?
Art is a means to measure everything in the world, not a demo of one's attributes. I don't want to go back to the sports comparisons: art is NOT a SPORT. Nor am I interested in obscure meanings of words in order to score points in arguments, which is like sport but not like art. You don't know what art is. No, not everyone who disagrees with me is stupid. You have not disagreed with me anyway: you have simply failed to grasp my point: art is not sport.
Tatums changes were mostly diatonic,with chord subs. He was'nt an improvisor in the manner of Bud Powell,and he even admitted that in a conversation with Boris revnaught.
"Best does not indicate some inherent superior quality." Actually, that's exactly what the word does mean. Good, better, best. "The best is the enemy of the good." (Voltaire) NB: I'm not commenting on Tatum's playing: it's incomparable and that, again, is my point.
My point was that an inherent or inseparable quality doesn't necessarily have anything to do with opinion. If best is not an opinion, neither is good or better. If one can say a group of things is good (opinions), they can also say that one of those is better or best (also opinions).
we cant run from the fact that even when compared with pianists of today, his speed was like fastwarding music. he was just way beyond his time. He is a predominantly self taught giant, partially blind, and wont be forgotten in a hurry.
but it isn't arrogant of anyone to express their opinion. and i was not judging anyone. that's my point in fact: this isn't an athletic competition. great music, no doubt.
Not stupid at all to say the best, Best does not indicate some inherent superior quality, it is clearly an opinion, a superlative of good, better which are also opinions.
polymath, you fooled me. very funny! as for "the greatest," what is this? an athletic performance? the aim of art is to MOVE people. while i'm amazed by art, I'm more moved by bud powell and mary-lou williams and that's because tatum is TOO good: he's perfect; there's something endearing about a slight imperfection. nat cole sang off key but his warmth made him more interesting to me than kurt elling, who is technically masterful but cold at the centre.
I don't know what you mean: I hear wrong notes in this performance, just very few, and they're not easy to hear (well, until a couple big clams in the ending coda). But so what? Most artists don't strive to be sorta-okay, they WANT to be perfect, what's wrong with that? A perfect live musician will never sound like a machine, but a perfect player piano can sound decently close to a live musician.
I think it's highly arrogant for you or anyone else to presume you can judge emotional content just by listening to a performance. Though sometimes it's obvious (especially if the player is making it so), there are many instances, as here, where the actual emotions are not clear, and only the person making the recording knew what they were feeling when they were making it.
How else would one judge emotional content than by listening to it? And this is my point: judgement separates you from your experience of listening. Be blown away, enjoy it MORE by judging it LESS!
Does it really matter? Not all music is about emotion. It can lend a lot to music but also be overbearing. Often I'd just rather listen to the wonderful sounds.
But I've seen a few that would give it a run for its money -for example this gem from a young-Earth creationist: "If the universe wasn't created by God for humans to live in, how come Earth is probly the ONLY planet with gravity? Did that happen just by CHANCE?"
I was just testing to see how fast his stride section is. Then I went to play the song again. He is int he KEy of Gb. re uyou kidding me? Or is it eaier to play faster ont he black keyts and soemthing is wrong thatw e r missing?
It's partly his speed, yes. But it's also because the harmonies he played were so far ahead of his time that he transcended genre and style completely. And, of course, the obvious, blinding speed that no other musician could possibly match. Fats Waller probably would have broken fingers trying to play Tatum's stuff, and he knew it. People couldn't even be envious of him because he was too damn good and one of the nicest, most humble musicians you'd ever meet. Incredible.
lets face it...he can play the piano,he can improvize,so he can also compose,the greatest composers were the greatest improvizers,this tatum was a very remarkable man in every aspect.some ´d try to put him down because they´re jealous,but this doesnt really count.i dont think this man had a a problem with a Rachmaninof concerto,it doesnt sound like this.there are some passages by his playing,sounds to be even harder than a Rach Concerto.This is just a fact
Improvising and composing are not exactly the same. The classical composers who were known as great improvisers didn't simply notate their improvisations and call them compositions. They tinkered with them fro months changing and improving them and making them into something else. A polished stand-alone work.
sir....sure...i know that, i also didnt mean it this way. in composing you think what you right now do, in improvising, you do what you ones thought...you may surelly combine them... Bach did this for example. he combined both. he composed out of what he improvised. well...i dont wanna compare art with johann, but art tatum was a great improviser, and if you write it down what he improvised, you´d see that it is also a good composition.
It's too bad I never learned to play the piano, then I could really understand what people mean when they say (about Tatum's playing) - "Impossible!", "He was a God", etc.
While I haven't heard ALL of Tatum's solos, I would have to go with "Tiger Rag" as being one his most AMAZING! I don't play the piano, but I can still understand that much!
"I Got Rhythm" would be my favorite jazz tunes by him in general (with help from bassist Slam Stewart and guitarist Tiny Grimes).
Why pianists think Art Tatum is doing the impossible: It's mainly because he's so damn fast. It sounds like more than one person is playing at a time.
Yes, it's almost sad how much publicity he does NOT get. Movie makers should make a movie about him like they did for pianist/singer Ray Charles. He (Tatum) is hands down the greatest musical mind to ever bless the world, and to let his legacy die out is nothing short of horrible
I have a transcription to this. It is not the same recording as the one here, but it will give you an idea of what notes he is playing. Message me if you're interested.
he could play and improvise on everything he wanted but no one till know can re-do what he played, or even know how he did...where does his art (tatum) come from?
Ofcourse it's fantastic playing&imagination but jazz/impro is a different language from classic,so no point comparing directly w Moz,Rach,Wag etc.Jazz,however great,remains product of the instant of pleasure with the instrument/voice/group..In classic the musician must try to go into another creator's mind& style(and sometimes fail!)It is this"meeting of minds/spirits"sometimes over several generations which raises classic onto a higher plane.Still love this tho!
well,i think in the composing terms,you´re right.but in the pianistic terms,i think,if this man wanted to play a bach fuge,for instance,he could also play that.what i see in this playing is a skill,which is only possessed by great pianists...classical pianists.
....and dont forget,a jazz known pianist keith jarret played the goldberg variations,which valids to be still one of the best recordings of the piece.if someone has the ability of playing such good as tatum,he can show it in this or that way,i think.
Well i'd stil insist on the nature of his own style being totally dominant & unlikely to adapt to other styles.I'm less enthusiastic than you for K Jarret's,or ChkCorea's classical adventures,for instance.They often sound ill at ease,technically fallible & musically stiff&prosaic.Classic is a humbling discipline,but if Tatum HAD studied formally,it might well have ruined the fantastic expression he found naturally for himself.ThankGod he kept his own path!
well...i´d say,if this man was NEVER a pupil in a music school,and could play like this,then we come to the conclusion that,educational purposes does not help a lot in terms of music.if this man does not possess a Diploma of any musicschool,it is just a disadvantage for those who possess it.
BLOODY ELL
kingklipse 1 month ago
old timey piano played technical death metal.
btw, anyone know what art tatum piece was in the movie "ray"? it sounds similar to this but has more diminished scales.
dilaudud 2 months ago
@dilaudud Well, this song is actually 3 songs, Stars and Stripes Forever, and two other songs, i forgot what they were it's in a bio, Art sometimes integrated parts of different songs into his improvisations because of his amazing memory. See Art was kind of mocking the original writer of this song, because he thought that this type of music was taken to seriously, so this is sort of like a parody lol.
16yearoldwhiteboy 2 weeks ago
I litened this for the first time. I was very surprised ! !
kaerupyokopoko 2 months ago
Its "Elegie".....
SuperHayez 4 months ago
i just LOVE the bass on this song!!
16yearoldwhiteboy 7 months ago 5
@16yearoldwhiteboy
By bass I'm assuming you mean Tatum's left hand?
helmut4lyfe 7 months ago 16
@helmut4lyfe Yes i love it!! I want to try to play like him if i can.. Happy 4th everyone.
16yearoldwhiteboy 7 months ago
@helmut4lyfe Oh yea lol
16yearoldwhiteboy 5 months ago
@16yearoldwhiteboy The man was on magic mushrooms.
vimana19 6 months ago
just how the heck would anyone play this!?
chibimaru8 7 months ago
@chibimaru8 Oscar Peterson, his fan. I mean, just look at OP's performance of "Eight Bar Boogie Blues". Wtf?
Santosificationable 5 months ago
Tatum must have had 88 fingers, one for each key. My goodness, the way he tickles the ivories is impeccable.
Apexone 11 months ago 3
hell!
humbleu 1 year ago
Grieg supercharged... Og aldri vakrere.
PENNSY671E 1 year ago
Shut up and LISTEN!
zymoon 1 year ago
My understanding is that it was all improvization- never played the same tune the same way ever. What he didn't do was compose. Wrote only one tune, battery bounce.
crisbailey66 1 year ago
2:15 he just tears shit up. fuckin hell....
thenewrapstyle 1 year ago
From the words of Fats Waller, "I only play the piano, but tonight God is in the house."
thanksfornot 1 year ago
What did Art Tatum die of if I may be so rude to ask?
baiba6 1 year ago
@baiba6 Uraemia crisis
Laporisduvelay 1 year ago
I came.
GreatJeca 1 year ago 2
This has been flagged as spam show
wowzers! RESPECT!
FREEDEJATAYLOR 1 year ago
A great book for stealing Art's licks is by Riccardo Scivales,, The right hand according to Tatum,,Ekay music inc,,,, After I got married, my wife quit her job of helping me being able to combine sex with happy hour piano playing,,,, even jewelry wouldn't help lol
JazzKeyboardist1 1 year ago 4
ART TATUM IS SO GOOD, HE DOESNT PLAY JAZZ OR STRIDE, HE PLAYS THE GENRE CALLED "ART TATUM."
JamesPriceJohnson 1 year ago 8
Big Boss Tatum...
zippolaccia 1 year ago
immortale Tatum
gullivior 1 year ago
Someone asked Oscar Peterson, "Say man, do you know Tatum?"
O.P. replied, "Yeah... he calls me son".
gingervytis 1 year ago
waoooo is the best
Ksino29 1 year ago
That was so excellent!
glockbeard 1 year ago
Yay! Humans are fortunate that Art Tatum ever lived!
drpepperr 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
who wrote this?
nicodagger 1 year ago
with art tatum comparisons just aren't there ... I'm looking at a mozart of my time -- raven
ravenCLI 1 year ago
Wow! Wish he'd lived a lot longer!
TheMikester307 1 year ago 16
@TheMikester307 I wish he would have been video'd more
helmut4lyfe 1 year ago
@helmut4lyfe - he died long before "Video"
I think you mean FILM - Movies - Motion Pictures ..
or toward the end of his life Television Kinescope ...
rentatrip1 1 year ago
@TheMikester307 I wish he would have been video'd more
helmut4lyfe 1 year ago 7
@helmut4lyfe, Video tape did not exist when he lived.
guitarslim56 1 year ago
@guitarslim56
Really, so video didn't exist in the 1950's?
helmut4lyfe 1 year ago 16
@helmut4lyfe Video tape was introduced in 1957, the year after Tatum died. He was filmed on many occasions. people today use "video" to describe moving film.
lawvice1 1 year ago
@helmut4lyfe Actually video tape technology was still in developmental stages when Art Tatum died in 1956. Most "videos" of Tatum playing are kinescopes.
RagPianoFan 7 months ago
@RagPianoFan & @helmut4lyfe:: the WONDERFUL news is that kinescope technology improved way beyond the look & feel of the early visual-quality; so if we can find more GREAT old kinescope reels, we can discover MANY more GREAT musical performances;-).. & current digital techniques can help deal w/ problems so that in the end, ALOT of the great old performances might look truly amazing =][=
robelicit 4 months ago
@helmut4lyfe Tatum died in '56 .. He'd been playing all this stuff and more in after-hours clubs since the 20s, and most of his later years were spent actually in the recording studio ... There wouldn't have been a lot of chances to video tape him live.
maniacc0 1 month ago
@guitarslim56 wow you are dumb...
MuscleheadsUnite 1 year ago
@guitarslim56
How is there video of him then? Dumb ass.
James9533 11 months ago
@guitarslim56
It existed but was destroyed in a fire according to Wikipedia.. :-(
Mondluchs 8 months ago
@TheMikester307, So did he!
guitarslim56 1 year ago
@TheMikester307 Guys like him lived on steak and booze back then. George Gershwin, Kurt Wile, Louis Jordan and more all lived the good life and keeled over around age 50.
FrederickHamilton 1 year ago
@TheMikester307 he may have if he didn't drink so much alcohol, the man loved his beers :)
LudwigVonKoopa64 2 weeks ago
this is mind blowing
slingblade98 1 year ago
holy shit
NuclearTide 1 year ago
I HAVE HAVE HAVE to learn this song...or I will never play the piano again!
KatarraParson 1 year ago
@loggancun....I can't figure these people out either. They come here to listen to Tatum, then end up debating each other while critiquing, and editorializing Tatum's genious... "marries technical brilliance with a great musicality"...WTF!!! Just shut up and enjoy what you came here for...Tatum! Geeze!
CKYZZIE 1 year ago
just shut up and enjoy the Art Tatum you looked for and found.
loggancun 1 year ago
wow
gallopinto30 1 year ago
God is in the house. Thank you so much for uploading this wonderful piece.
cheesecakeisgod 1 year ago 4
A 'Desert Island Disc' for me, this one.
Talent beyond measure.
Kitsua 2 years ago
Most important thing for me about Art Tatum is that he was a pianist purely and simply. He had to seek a career in contemporary music, as it was unthinkable in the racist US in the 20s and 30s for a black guy to play with white symphony orchestras. He had more ability than most white pianists, and this is borne out by many of his recordings.
His ability to seek new harmonies, and rework popular songs has never been matched, either before or since. A truly unique musician.
brabazon10 2 years ago 3
He didn't just have more ability than white pianists but than pretty much EVERY pianist! What I love about Tatum (and Django) is that he marries technical brilliance with a great musicality so that his flurries of notes are not just gratuitous and showing off, they sound musical! (unlike Al di Meola)
awesomewelles90 1 year ago
Tatum was so beyond the skills of just race. Even to this day, you'd be hard pressed to find a pianist with his level of talent.
delgadorevolver 1 year ago
agreed!!
brabazon10 1 year ago
I'm sure Massenet would have been surprised - and very impressed!
paulprocopolis 2 years ago
how is that stride left hand possible from 2.13 ?
hugleberthumperdink 2 years ago
It isn't! But then again listen to Tatum playing Tiger Rag. it's the same thing. Impossible! ;-)
Maxven 2 years ago 2
thank you helmut4lyfe. The bare 5ths are amazing. 'nough said. do more of this incredible muso if you can.
Madacus2
madacus2 2 years ago
Mind the pun, this is art! Lovely!
chrisbahen 2 years ago
overnatural.
silencesings 2 years ago
i don't understand all the bickering in here... why can't we just enjoy the music. That's probably what Art would say.
JCruz0587 2 years ago 4
Bless your soul, dear Art.
operarus33184 2 years ago 3
Well said Oct212006, I couldn't agree with you more. To simply listen and absorb a bit of this wonderful and uniquely gifted man every now and then is all I need to lift my spirits and make me smile in wonder.
10003949 2 years ago 4
many years ago, one of our drummers met Art Tatum in LA.
On the break, he showered Art w/ praise and when he stopped, Art asked him,
"Do you really like my playing" and he answered 'Of course".
Art then said, "Would you buy me a beer"?
He did.
1mommas 2 years ago 4
Oct212006, right on. Nice to hear such a supportive post....not the noise of haters.
20gilbert20 2 years ago 2
goosebumps
tatum wasn't just a musician - he was like einstein or newton or tesla... he was that elusive genius that comes to us once every few generations to show us what we are capable of if we get our heads out of our asses and quick bickering with each other over the petty and imaginary concerns of society.
i bow to you, art tatum.
oct212006 2 years ago 70
@oct212006 What an incredible analogy, I totally agree. The man was a genius!
Chaosga 1 year ago
@oct212006 this is the song i'd like to have video of him playing more than anything.
ohmphthschwrhu 9 months ago
@oct212006
Wishful thinking - not everyone who "lays down the bickering over petty concerns of society" (and I really hope you just mean the petty and imaginary ones, because there are important ones, as well), will be able to achieve supreme results in arts or science ;)
twooffour 3 months ago
On reste sans voix devant la beauté de votre musique.
Merci Monsieur Tatum.
rosge1845 2 years ago 2
thanks art :)
mahoose6 2 years ago 2
This is yet another great vid, but why do great vids always come with stupid comments? Just saying you guys should safe the effort of trying to convince others about the true idols out there. Don't bother!
freekdevos 3 years ago 20
The more I listen to it, more and more of the subtlety of his playing and the music's underlying rhythmic structure is unveiled. To simply put it: yes, he is Art.
parazsdavid 3 years ago 7
Comment removed
iplaymusc 3 years ago 4
I strongly disagree there was anything Tatum couldn't replicate, and then make better.
helmut4lyfe 3 years ago
@helmut4lyfe "Better" is a completely subjective word when it comes to music.
It's impossible to say who is the best at an aesthetic art.
benwaddelling 1 year ago
@iplaymusc ...strictly speaking, sharps and flats can be the same thing
tombokickass 1 year ago
@tombokickass ... not strictly speaking, depends on what key its in . minor/major ..
GerRaffe321 1 year ago
@GerRaffe321 No, majors and minors have nothing to do with it.
Db major is the same as C# major. They are enharmonic. They sound exactly the same, yet they are written differently, Motherfucker. ;)
tombokickass 1 year ago
@tombokickass as i said....NOT stictly speaking lol... i didnt know you wanted to get technical LoL .. rite back at ya mofo :))
GerRaffe321 1 year ago
@tombokickass Lol. You just passed music theory level 1. GOOD JOB! lol
iplaymusc 1 year ago
@iplaymusc fuck off, mate.
tombokickass 1 year ago
Nothing to say or write here.
westcoastend 3 years ago
Amazing!
BrainpoliceMusic 3 years ago
Senza parole...
pandae80 3 years ago
convenuto
helmut4lyfe 3 years ago
Senza parole...
pandae80 3 years ago
I love God !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tigerclint 3 years ago
come on guys.... it's just good music to drink beer on, nod your head, feel happy, look at a girl... those guys wouldn't give a shit about your comments.
alexhamelart 3 years ago 2
Isn't this massanet?
lepianoman 3 years ago
Composed by Massanet. Improvised upon and played by Tatum.
helmut4lyfe 3 years ago
Thanks
lepianoman 3 years ago
There's no question that Art Tatum was a musical god among mere mortals.
Kolef88 3 years ago
yes, great quality can go unrecognized and mediocre stuff can be lionized. as for the rest, you've lost me. i like tatum and hope to like him more with more exposure. i just hate all this "he's a god" stuff (which i know you personally didn't say) - i guess that set me off. ok? nuff said?
dangoorevitch 3 years ago
I definitely understand how you could tire of that phrase because it's definitely said enough and if taken literally, the phrase doesn't even mean anything to me. I just assumed this was a way people express a strong sentiment, albeit in a different way that I express it
ggg5509 3 years ago
He is called a "God", because there is no accurate analogy to describe how much better he is than anybody else at the keyboard. Babe Ruth's homerun record has been broken, Michael Jordan wasn't the best basketball player in all statistics. Nobody has been so far out at #1 than Tatum is at the piano. He makes Oscar Peterson, somebody I admire and think the world of, pale in comparison.
helmut4lyfe 3 years ago
Al Haig, Abdullah Ibrahim, Mary-Lou Williams, Bud Powell, Cecil Taylor, Ray Bryant: these are proper comparisons, not sports stars. Art is NOT a f***ing sport! Its purpose is to MOVE people. I couldn't give a dog's hind end how FAST a pianist plays (Cecil Taylor probably does play more notes than Art but it's IRRELEVANT and BORING) or how many chord changes (like the boring Bill Evans whose pieces seem endless and tiresome) It's how deeply he MOVES you.
dangoorevitch 3 years ago
Tatum has more chord progressions than anybody of his time. He was decades ahead of his time in theory, and thousands of years ahead in his dexterity. I wasn't comparing Tatum to the sports stars. I was merely saying, there is no other area of life where one person has single handedly dominated his competition so amazingly.
helmut4lyfe 3 years ago
Yes, you DID compare him to sports stars. It is in print above for all to see. You also have not replied to any comments about MOVING people. Other pianists were NOT Art's COMPETITION but his COLLEAGUES. AGAIN the sports analogy! ART ISN'T SPORTS!
dangoorevitch 3 years ago
but he competed with them, of course they were his competition.
nhnbsp 3 years ago
I'm terribly sorry to have taxed your small mind: obviously you're incapable of understanding the point.
dangoorevitch 3 years ago
is everyone that disagrees with you stupid? the word competitor on webster's revised unabridged is defined as one who seeks what another seeks, and the second obscure meaning is noted as an associate, or confederate. your argument as my tiny brain understood it was that colleagues were not competitors, but by the above definition what could competitors be if not colleagues? going back to the sports comparison you hate so much can you tell me why peyton manning and tom brady aren't colleagues?
nhnbsp 3 years ago
Art is a means to measure everything in the world, not a demo of one's attributes. I don't want to go back to the sports comparisons: art is NOT a SPORT. Nor am I interested in obscure meanings of words in order to score points in arguments, which is like sport but not like art. You don't know what art is. No, not everyone who disagrees with me is stupid. You have not disagreed with me anyway: you have simply failed to grasp my point: art is not sport.
dangoorevitch 3 years ago
Tatums changes were mostly diatonic,with chord subs. He was'nt an improvisor in the manner of Bud Powell,and he even admitted that in a conversation with Boris revnaught.
megabopp 3 years ago
"Best does not indicate some inherent superior quality." Actually, that's exactly what the word does mean. Good, better, best. "The best is the enemy of the good." (Voltaire) NB: I'm not commenting on Tatum's playing: it's incomparable and that, again, is my point.
dangoorevitch 3 years ago
My point was that an inherent or inseparable quality doesn't necessarily have anything to do with opinion. If best is not an opinion, neither is good or better. If one can say a group of things is good (opinions), they can also say that one of those is better or best (also opinions).
ggg5509 3 years ago
we cant run from the fact that even when compared with pianists of today, his speed was like fastwarding music. he was just way beyond his time. He is a predominantly self taught giant, partially blind, and wont be forgotten in a hurry.
olorunfemi2000 3 years ago 2
Lol ZUN is the best.
Z0iQ 3 years ago
but it isn't arrogant of anyone to express their opinion. and i was not judging anyone. that's my point in fact: this isn't an athletic competition. great music, no doubt.
dangoorevitch 3 years ago
yes, this is true. some emotive stuff can be overbearing... that's why it's stupid to say so-and-so is THE BEST. everybody has different needs.
dangoorevitch 3 years ago
Not stupid at all to say the best, Best does not indicate some inherent superior quality, it is clearly an opinion, a superlative of good, better which are also opinions.
ggg5509 3 years ago
Yes it does. Best means precisely superior quality. Look it up in a dictionary.
dangoorevitch 3 years ago
You missed the point again. Superior quality still involves an opinion, just like good and better.
ggg5509 3 years ago
polymath, you fooled me. very funny! as for "the greatest," what is this? an athletic performance? the aim of art is to MOVE people. while i'm amazed by art, I'm more moved by bud powell and mary-lou williams and that's because tatum is TOO good: he's perfect; there's something endearing about a slight imperfection. nat cole sang off key but his warmth made him more interesting to me than kurt elling, who is technically masterful but cold at the centre.
dangoorevitch 3 years ago
I don't know what you mean: I hear wrong notes in this performance, just very few, and they're not easy to hear (well, until a couple big clams in the ending coda). But so what? Most artists don't strive to be sorta-okay, they WANT to be perfect, what's wrong with that? A perfect live musician will never sound like a machine, but a perfect player piano can sound decently close to a live musician.
KawhackitaRag 3 years ago
I think it's highly arrogant for you or anyone else to presume you can judge emotional content just by listening to a performance. Though sometimes it's obvious (especially if the player is making it so), there are many instances, as here, where the actual emotions are not clear, and only the person making the recording knew what they were feeling when they were making it.
KawhackitaRag 3 years ago
How else would one judge emotional content than by listening to it? And this is my point: judgement separates you from your experience of listening. Be blown away, enjoy it MORE by judging it LESS!
dangoorevitch 3 years ago
Does it really matter? Not all music is about emotion. It can lend a lot to music but also be overbearing. Often I'd just rather listen to the wonderful sounds.
KawhackitaRag 3 years ago
God can be seen in many different forms. Art Tatum is one form.
CBasie2856 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Tatum...Tatum...
Yeah, I think I heard of this guy before.
I'd say he's probably above average.
Not as good as Alicia Keys, though.
polymath7 3 years ago
That might be absolutely the most unintelligent thing ever said on youtube.
helmut4lyfe 3 years ago
It's funny you should say that helmut, as this was my attempt to say the most invidiously bone-headed thing I could possibly think of -just for fun.
I can't believe it took an entire day for someone to call me on it. Perhaps everyone else just assumed I was kidding?
polymath7 3 years ago
Unbelievablely stupid comment ever!!
soyeonpark 3 years ago
Yes, it's certainly up there; that was the point.
But I've seen a few that would give it a run for its money -for example this gem from a young-Earth creationist: "If the universe wasn't created by God for humans to live in, how come Earth is probly the ONLY planet with gravity? Did that happen just by CHANCE?"
polymath7 3 years ago
how is anybody this good?
x1235791113x 3 years ago
must be fake. Up until i heard this guy, I though Gould was fast. Whatever, they're both at unobtainable levels it seems
x1235791113x 3 years ago
Fake? No, you're just hearing possibly the greatest pianist of all time. He's just that good.
jiolsmolimassunemo 3 years ago
No, it's not fake. I love how he goes into the high-speed stride though... fantastic!
KawhackitaRag 3 years ago
Intense!
dadasopher 3 years ago
I can write for you any sheet music
musictranscription 3 years ago
I think Debussy, Liszt, Godowski would have LOVED this man..and stood about the piano in amazement and joy..
ffurgy 3 years ago 3
especially debussy
barneyfifty 3 years ago
I was just testing to see how fast his stride section is. Then I went to play the song again. He is int he KEy of Gb. re uyou kidding me? Or is it eaier to play faster ont he black keyts and soemthing is wrong thatw e r missing?
bkgangstapianist 3 years ago
It's partly his speed, yes. But it's also because the harmonies he played were so far ahead of his time that he transcended genre and style completely. And, of course, the obvious, blinding speed that no other musician could possibly match. Fats Waller probably would have broken fingers trying to play Tatum's stuff, and he knew it. People couldn't even be envious of him because he was too damn good and one of the nicest, most humble musicians you'd ever meet. Incredible.
altair003 3 years ago
lets face it...he can play the piano,he can improvize,so he can also compose,the greatest composers were the greatest improvizers,this tatum was a very remarkable man in every aspect.some ´d try to put him down because they´re jealous,but this doesnt really count.i dont think this man had a a problem with a Rachmaninof concerto,it doesnt sound like this.there are some passages by his playing,sounds to be even harder than a Rach Concerto.This is just a fact
paganviodio 3 years ago 2
Improvising and composing are not exactly the same. The classical composers who were known as great improvisers didn't simply notate their improvisations and call them compositions. They tinkered with them fro months changing and improving them and making them into something else. A polished stand-alone work.
awesomewelles90 1 year ago
sir....sure...i know that, i also didnt mean it this way. in composing you think what you right now do, in improvising, you do what you ones thought...you may surelly combine them... Bach did this for example. he combined both. he composed out of what he improvised. well...i dont wanna compare art with johann, but art tatum was a great improviser, and if you write it down what he improvised, you´d see that it is also a good composition.
paganviodio 1 year ago
I know, I just got some transcriptions and I'm looking at them and learning from them.
awesomewelles90 1 year ago
It's too bad I never learned to play the piano, then I could really understand what people mean when they say (about Tatum's playing) - "Impossible!", "He was a God", etc.
While I haven't heard ALL of Tatum's solos, I would have to go with "Tiger Rag" as being one his most AMAZING! I don't play the piano, but I can still understand that much!
"I Got Rhythm" would be my favorite jazz tunes by him in general (with help from bassist Slam Stewart and guitarist Tiny Grimes).
Good post!
mwhite36 3 years ago 3
Why pianists think Art Tatum is doing the impossible: It's mainly because he's so damn fast. It sounds like more than one person is playing at a time.
(Correct me if I'm wrong)
NoteAnimation 3 years ago
Art Tatum's legacy will never die. He and his music will live forever. When I first heard this I fell off my chair. Tatum is the greatest.
ilovesteelydan 3 years ago
Woah, this guy can improv better than Cziffra, and maybe even play better OH SHIT 0.o
mdeonx12 3 years ago 3
There is no maybe about it.
helmut4lyfe 3 years ago
This Dude had two INVISIBLE HANDS....
mexton 3 years ago 3
everytime i listen to tatum i seriously want to throw everything in my house with black and white keys.
flippenpinoi 3 years ago 3
art tatum was a freaking GOD. (nuff said.)
ninthmuse 3 years ago 5
Art changed everything. Once he hit NYC all the musicians explored his harmonic possibilities. Charlie Parker expanded Art's ideas and created bebop
PhuckHue 3 years ago
I didn't discover Art Tatum until I saw that Ken Burns documentary. Just blows me away....
luridplanet 3 years ago
Yes, it's almost sad how much publicity he does NOT get. Movie makers should make a movie about him like they did for pianist/singer Ray Charles. He (Tatum) is hands down the greatest musical mind to ever bless the world, and to let his legacy die out is nothing short of horrible
helmut4lyfe 3 years ago
I'll write for you any sheet music
musictranscription 3 years ago
If you'd be so kind, could you send me the note for note transcription of this song?
helmut4lyfe 3 years ago
it will be a waste of time fot you and a good axercise for him. there are software these days who can do that in a min.
marcbarbu 3 years ago
Any free ones? [=
helmut4lyfe 3 years ago
:)) not really :)
marcbarbu 3 years ago
Can you give some examples? No need to be free.
eblemis 3 years ago
I have a transcription to this. It is not the same recording as the one here, but it will give you an idea of what notes he is playing. Message me if you're interested.
stienwayz 3 years ago
he could play and improvise on everything he wanted but no one till know can re-do what he played, or even know how he did...where does his art (tatum) come from?
mountblow 3 years ago
It was said that his style of playing was fully developed by the time he was 15 years old
helmut4lyfe 3 years ago
interesting and..not so surprising when you consider his Austrian equivalent (Mozart)
and when you also consider that the brain is formed at 4, his talent would have been form at that early time (?)
mountblow 3 years ago
The greatest Piano player of all time!
FoxmanPhD 3 years ago 4
Correction: "Second greatest piano player of all time"!
awesomewelles90 1 year ago
Really liked it. Interesting. enjoyable . i wish I had been alive to see him play like that in person.
Maximillian17 3 years ago
You'd probably be dead by now if you had been ;)
helmut4lyfe 3 years ago
HA! true true
Maximillian17 3 years ago
good to be doing it. to BE it : ]
Maximillian17 3 years ago
Ofcourse it's fantastic playing&imagination but jazz/impro is a different language from classic,so no point comparing directly w Moz,Rach,Wag etc.Jazz,however great,remains product of the instant of pleasure with the instrument/voice/group..In classic the musician must try to go into another creator's mind& style(and sometimes fail!)It is this"meeting of minds/spirits"sometimes over several generations which raises classic onto a higher plane.Still love this tho!
fartlestucks 3 years ago
well,i think in the composing terms,you´re right.but in the pianistic terms,i think,if this man wanted to play a bach fuge,for instance,he could also play that.what i see in this playing is a skill,which is only possessed by great pianists...classical pianists.
paganviodio 3 years ago
....and dont forget,a jazz known pianist keith jarret played the goldberg variations,which valids to be still one of the best recordings of the piece.if someone has the ability of playing such good as tatum,he can show it in this or that way,i think.
paganviodio 3 years ago
Well i'd stil insist on the nature of his own style being totally dominant & unlikely to adapt to other styles.I'm less enthusiastic than you for K Jarret's,or ChkCorea's classical adventures,for instance.They often sound ill at ease,technically fallible & musically stiff&prosaic.Classic is a humbling discipline,but if Tatum HAD studied formally,it might well have ruined the fantastic expression he found naturally for himself.ThankGod he kept his own path!
fartlestucks 3 years ago
As Oscar Peterson once said, You put the world's best piano players in one room and they all sound great but when you play Art they all sound small!!
ARAUZ1625 3 years ago 4
well...i´d say,if this man was NEVER a pupil in a music school,and could play like this,then we come to the conclusion that,educational purposes does not help a lot in terms of music.if this man does not possess a Diploma of any musicschool,it is just a disadvantage for those who possess it.
paganviodio 3 years ago