Art Tatum plays 'Taboo'

Art Tatum (1909-1956) recorded his version of 'Taboo' late in 1953, and it finds him in spectacular form. So lavish and speedy is Tatum's playing that it is hard to recognise Margarita Lecuona's song, written originally for the 1931 film 'Tabu' (the spellings seem to be interchangeable), directed by F. W. Murnau.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Art tatum
• Taboo
• Margarita Lecuona
• paulprocopolis

[paulprocopolis]

... and to get back to the point, isn't Tatum's playing truly amazing?!

[pianopera]

This is one that I wanted to upload, too, but it was refused by YT!

Glad that you somehow managed to do so...incredible playing.

[paulprocopolis]

Maybe it's because I took it from an old LP, and YT didn't recognise it as forbidden fruit!! Hearing this, one can understand why Horowitz was so impressed!

[snaaptaker]

And not only Horowitz was impressed by Tatum; Rachmaninoff was, too.

[snaaptaker]

Yes, amazing.

I haven't played, nor even heard, this tune in many years.

And I've never heard it played at anywhere nearly approaching that tempo.

(Was that a grammatically convoluted sentence??!!) :))

[Tcjunior18]

The speed of his fingers on those strolls sounds like chasing bumble bees soooo fast!

[ridingroy]

If I played piano I might be tempted to quit after hearing this...just stunning..

[scarlattatum]

elettrizzante...anche musicisti classici come Horowitz, Rachmaninoff, Godowsky, Samson Francois, Previn, Toscanini, Stokowsky etc... restarono strabiliati e increduli sentendo Tatum...

[polymath7]

Fucking bloody hell!

[starboy288]

Such incredible fluidity and harmonic concepts in Art Tatum's playing. No one touches his playing when it comes to speed and flawless execution.

[brabazon10]

Art Tatum's piano playing was on such a higher plane than most others; not just his playing but his concepts leave me breathless. Nobody before or since had this ability; his chord playing was stunning.

No wonder that Vladimir Horowitz was so totally impressed by Art. Greatest tragedy of Art Tatum was that he was only 46 at his death.

[snaaptaker]

"Amazing" barely covers it!

Horowitz played his arrangement of "Tea for Two" for Tatum. Then Tatum played his version (improvised) for Horowitz.

Horowitz immediately quit playing it.

I don't blame him. I've heard Horowitz play it.

Les Pyoo.

[snaaptaker]

Yes, thank you.

You're correct on all accounts.

[pacodemic]

Horowitz and Rachmaninoff yes.

Also Leopold Godowsky, Walter Gieseking, Ignacy Paderewski, Andre Previn and many other classical pianists were using the same superlatives for his skill as the jazz-musicans like Ellington, Charlie Parker (called him to be a person like Beethoven), Basie (called him the 8th Wonder of the World), Hancock (his technic is still not analysed yet), Makowicz, Peterson, Fats Weller(called him god) etc etc.

This is unique because it never happened before and after.

[pacodemic]

Horowitz had seen Tatum playing in a club and thought his improvisations were composed and addmited :" it cannot be true, i cannot trust my eyes and ears"