Tatum is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. He was noted for the complexity and speed of his performances, which set a new standard for jazz piano virtuosity.
Tatum drew inspiration from his contemporaries James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, and had a great influence on other famous jazz pianists, such as Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Chick Corea, and Oscar Peterson. Saxophonist Charlie Parker took his first job in New York as a dishwasher where Tatum played, just for the experience of hearing Tatum's harmonic inventions.
Tatum identified Fats Waller as his main influence, but according to pianist Teddy Wilson and saxophonist Eddie Barefield, "Art Tatum's favorite jazz piano player was Earl Hines. He used to buy all of Earl's records and would improvise on them. He'd play the record but he'd improvise over what Earl was doing ..... 'course, when you heard Art play you didn't hear nothing of anybody but Art. But he got his ideas from Earl's style of playing – but Earl never knew that."
A major event in his meteoric rise to success was his appearance at a cutting contest in 1933 at Morgan's bar in New York City that included Waller, Johnson and Willie "The Lion" Smith. Standard contest pieces included Johnson's "Harlem Strut" and "Carolina Shout" and Fats Waller's "Handful of Keys." Tatum triumphed with his arrangements of "Tea for Two" and "Tiger Rag", in a performance that was considered to be the last word in stride piano. James P. Johnson, reminiscing about Tatum's debut afterward, simply said, "When Tatum played Tea For Two that night I guess that was the first time I ever heard it really played." Tatum's debut was historic because he outplayed the elite competition and heralded the demise of the stride era. He was not challenged further until stride specialist Donald Lambert initiated a half-serious rivalry with him.
Tatum worked first around Toledo and Cleveland and then later in New York at the Onyx Club for a few months; he recorded his first four solo sides on the Brunswick label in March, 1933. He returned to Ohio and played around the American midwest - Toledo, Cleveland, Detroit, Saint Louis and Chicago - in the mid-1930s and played on the Fleischman Hour radio program hosted by Rudy Vallee in 1935. He also played stints at the Three Deuces in Chicago and in Los Angeles he played at The Trocadero, the Paramount and the Club Alabam. In 1937 he returned to New York where he appeared at clubs and played on national radio programs. The following year he embarked on the Queen Mary for England where he toured, playing for three months at Ciro's Club owned by bandleader Ambrose. In the late 1930s he returned to play and record in Los Angeles and New York.
In 1941, Tatum recorded two sessions for Decca Records with singer Big Joe Turner, the first of which included "Wee Wee Baby Blues", which attained national popularity. Two years later Tatum won Esquire Magazine's first jazz popularity poll. Perhaps believing there was a limited audience for solo piano, Tatum formed a trio in 1943 with guitarist Tiny Grimes and bassist Slam Stewart, whose perfect pitch enabled him to follow Tatum's excursions. Tatum recorded exclusively with the trio for almost two years, but abandoned the trio format in 1945 and returned to solo piano work. Although Tatum was idolized by many jazz musicians, his popularity faded in the mid to late forties with the advent of bebop - a movement which Tatum did not embrace.
The last two years of his life, Tatum regularly played at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit, including his final public performance in April 1956. Earlier, Tatum had personally selected and purchased for Clarence Baker the Steinway piano at Baker's, finding it in a New York showroom, and shipping it to Detroit.
Tatum was widely recognized among his colleagues as the most gifted jazz pianist alive, some going so far as to say he was one of the greatest pianists of any genre. Such classical luminaries as Vladimir Horowitz and Sergei Rachmaninov greatly admired his technique. Unusually for a jazz musician, Tatum rarely abandoned the original melodic lines of the songs he played, preferring innovative reharmonization (changing the chord progressions that supported the melodies). He also had a penchant for filling spaces within melodies with his trademark runs and other embellishments, which some critics considered gratuitous and "unjazzlike."
It's the Talk of the Town
Art Tatum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We were more than sweethearts,
It's so hard to understand.
Don't know why it happened,
Don't know how it started,
Why should we be strangers,
After all we planned.
I can't show my face,
Can't go anyplace,
People stop an' stare,
It's so hard to bear,
Everybody knows you left me,
It's the talk of the town
Every time we meet,
My heart skips a beat,
We don't stop to speak,
'Though it's just a week,
Everybody knows you left me,
It's the talk of the town
We send out invitations,
To friends and relations,
Announcing our weddin' day
Friends and our relations,
Gave congratulations,
How can you face them?
What can you say?
Let's make up sweetheart,
We can't stay apart,
Don't let foolish pride,
Keep you from my side,
How can love like ours be ended?
It's the talk of the town
How can you face them?
What can you say?
Let's make up sweetheart,
We can't stay apart,
Don't let foolish pride,
Keep you from my side,
How can love like ours be ended?
It's the talk of the town, hm
It's the talk of the town.
The lyrics to Art Tatum's song "It's the Talk of the Town" express the pain and confusion of a relationship that has ended without a clear explanation. The singer reflects on how they had been more than just lovers or sweethearts, and had made plans together that are now falling apart. The chorus emphasizes how everyone they know is aware of the breakup, and how difficult it is to face them and explain what happened. Despite the pain and confusion, the song ends on a note of hope, as the singer appeals to their partner to reconcile and not let foolish pride ruin their love.
Overall, the song explores the universal themes of love, loss, and the complicated emotions that come with the end of a relationship. The lyrics capture the sense of isolation and hurt that can come when a romantic partnership ends, as well as the powerlessness of not understanding why things fell apart. The song also captures the way that a breakup can impact not just the individuals involved, but all those who were invested in their relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
We were more than lovers,
Our relationship was more than just physical intimacy between two people.
We were more than sweethearts,
We had a deep emotional connection beyond that of a typical romantic relationship.
It's so hard to understand.
The reasons for our separation are unclear and confusing.
Don't know why it happened,
I am unsure of the cause of our separation.
Don't know how it started,
I am uncertain how our relationship fell apart.
Why should we be strangers,
We were once very close, why should we now avoid each other?
After all we planned.
We had made many plans for our future together which now seem impossible to achieve.
I can't show my face,
I am embarrassed and ashamed of our separation.
Can't go anyplace,
I feel trapped and isolated due to the rumors surrounding our separation.
People stop an' stare,
Others are observing us and our situation intently.
It's so hard to bear,
The stress and pressure of this situation are difficult to cope with.
Everybody knows you left me,
The details of our separation are common knowledge among our social circle.
Every time we meet,
Whenever we see each other in public, it is an uncomfortable situation.
My heart skips a beat,
I still have strong feelings for you despite our separation.
We don't stop to speak,
We are avoiding communication with each other to avoid further discomfort.
'Though it's just a week,
Even though our separation is recent, it feels like it has been much longer.
We send out invitations,
We had planned to get married and had already sent out invitations for the wedding.
To friends and relations,
We had invited friends and family to our wedding.
Announcing our weddin' day
The invitations announced the date of our wedding.
Gave congratulations,
Our friends and family had expressed their happiness and congratulations to us on our impending wedding.
How can you face them?
How can you face our friends and family after falling out with me just before our wedding day?
What can you say?
You have no explanation to offer to our friends and family about why you left me just before our wedding day.
Let's make up sweetheart,
We should reconcile and repair our relationship.
We can't stay apart,
We still have strong feelings for each other and should not continue to be separated.
Don't let foolish pride,
We should not allow our pride to stand in the way of repairing our relationship.
Keep you from my side,
We should be together and not let our separation cause further distance between us.
How can love like ours be ended?
We had a deep and meaningful love, it is difficult to believe that it has ended.
It's the talk of the town
Our situation has become a topic of conversation among our social circle and beyond.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION
Written by: AL J NEIBURG, JERRY LEVINSON, MARTY SYMES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Stephen Schwab
These Capitol sides recorded around the same time that Bud Powell recorded some of his greatest solo and trio work are a gift that keeps giving.
EaglesLair27
His runs are like running water. There will never be another. Tatum can't imaTatum!
David Levin
Well, Oscar came close--real close!
Eve Elliot
@David Levin Respectfully disagree. No one touches Tatum, he's in his own galaxy!
David Levin
@Eve Elliot I've always been of the opinion that no one could touch Tatum. He was an American original. He tried to give credit to James P. Johnson and Fats Waller but he was on another level, another plain. That being said, a young Oscar Peterson came awfully close to Tatum.
Dario D'Angelo
Mr. Dick Hyman probably the worthy heir of this kind of “magic and unique” pianism.