Art Tatum
Art Tatum (1909–1956) was an American jazz pianist renowned for dazzling technique, inventive reharmonization, and influential solo recordings.
Jazz piano: A piano tradition that combines jazz harmony, rhythm, improvisation, and varied performance styles. Tatum’s solo work became one of the most technically influential models in jazz piano.
Tea for Two: A 1924 popular song by Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar that became a jazz standard. Tatum’s celebrated 1933 recording turns its simple song form into a dazzling solo display.
Fats Waller: An American jazz pianist, singer, and composer associated with stride piano and the Harlem Renaissance. Waller’s stride tradition provided a foundation that Tatum admired and radically extended.
Bebop: A modern jazz style that emerged in the 1940s, featuring fast tempos, complex harmony, and improvisation-centered small groups. Bebop pianists inherited Tatum’s harmonic daring even as they developed a different rhythmic language.
Toledo, Ohio: A city in northwestern Ohio on the western end of Lake Erie. Tatum was born and raised in Toledo, where his musical career began.
Reharmonization: The replacement or alteration of a piece’s original chords while preserving or reshaping its melody. His unexpected substitute chords transformed familiar standards without losing their melodic identity.
Tiger Rag: A 1917 jazz composition associated with the Original Dixieland Jass Band and widely adapted by later performers. Tatum’s performances made its rapid changes and showpiece passages a test of virtuosity.
Benny Goodman: An American clarinetist and bandleader central to the swing era. Goodman’s recordings and performances brought Tatum into contact with leading swing musicians.
Vladimir Horowitz: A Russian-American classical pianist celebrated for virtuoso technique and expressive intensity. Horowitz reportedly admired Tatum’s command of the piano, illustrating his reach beyond jazz.
Blindness: A condition involving substantial or complete loss of vision, with varied causes and degrees. Tatum had severe visual impairment from childhood, shaping how he learned and accessed music.