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."
Love For Sale
Art Tatum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Simply because you're near me.
Funny, but when you're near me
I'm in the mood for love.
Heaven is in your eyes
Bright as the stars we're under
Oh! Is it any wonder
Why stop to think of whether
This little dream might fade?
We've put our hearts together
Now we are one, I'm not afraid!
If there's a cloud above
If it should rain we'll let it
But for tonight, forget it!
I'm in the mood for love
The lyrics to Art Tatum's "I'm in the Mood for Love" express the excitement and passion that love can bring. The singer explains that simply being near their loved one makes them feel an overwhelming desire for passion and connection. The idea of feeling like they're in heaven is also introduced with the line "Heaven is in your eyes / Bright as the stars we're under." The singer then suggests that there's no need to worry about anything that could come between them, whether it be tenuous dreams or even precipitation, because when they're together, they feel unstoppable.
The lyrics to this song demonstrate the power of love and attraction. The singer delves deep into their feelings, describing the physical and emotional sensations that come with being close to the object of their desire. The lyrics serve as a celebration of the joy and excitement that relationships can bring, and a reassurance that, no matter what happens, they are in love and nothing can change that. Altogether, "I'm in the Mood for Love" is a beautiful ode to the rush of emotions that comes with falling head over heels for someone.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm in the mood for love
I feel romantic and amorous right now
Simply because you're near me.
Your presence is all it takes to make me feel this way
Funny, but when you're near me
It's strange, but your presence has this effect on me
Heaven is in your eyes
Your eyes are so beautiful and full of wonder, it's like looking at heaven itself
Bright as the stars we're under
Your eyes are shining and sparkling like the stars above us
Oh! Is it any wonder
It's no surprise at all
I'm in the mood for love?
That I feel this way
Why stop to think of whether
There's no point in questioning
This little dream might fade?
Whether this momentary feeling will disappear
We've put our hearts together
We've shared our emotions and feelings with each other
Now we are one, I'm not afraid!
We are united and I feel secure in our relationship
If there's a cloud above
Even if there's an obstacle or challenge ahead
If it should rain we'll let it
We'll face the challenge together and weather it like the rain
But for tonight, forget it!
Let's not worry about anything else tonight and just enjoy this moment
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Dorothy Fields, Jimmy Mchugh
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Luther G Williams
This sounds like many more than three instruments! Oscar Peterson was the greatest at improvising melodic lines, but Art Tatum had multiple textures going on simultaneously. I love the way he's constantly interrupting himself. Fantastic!
Michael Kaykov
It’s so marvelous… really interesting to compare to Tatum’s solo versions to this. His overall conception remained consistent.
rwkenyon
For me, Art Tatum was, inarguably, the greatest piano improviser, but he always improvised on melodies written by others. To my knowledge, he never wrote an original composiion--which I find extremely surprising. How could such a creative genius not have written a composition of his own? Any ideas? His seven-CD solo recordings for Pablo are his masterpieces.
Downpat Music
Really if you think about it, his improvisations are compositions in themselves. So you have these standard songs with melodies and chord changes that he really rewrites with his own compositions. Sure he uses them as structure. But he probably figured I have plenty of melodies and chord changes to express my self with. Why write anymore? He makes them his own anyway as if he had wrote them. That’s what you want to achieve as a performer of any music classical included . Thing is, he could have written it so it sounds like his own.
rwkenyon
@Downpat Music Yes. What you write makes a lot of sense. It demonstrates your profound understanding of Tatum. I agree with you completely. Thanks for posting your comment: it will enhance others' appreciation of Tatum's music.
Muncie Indiana Dedication
Track ten of Art Tatum Group Masterpieces vol. 6 (Jo Jones and Red Callendar) "Trio Blues" is an original blues likely composed on the spot. Only one I can think of
drew
@Muncie Indiana Dedication the shout is art tatums most famous composition
Charles Barry
The greatest jazz pianist ever
Marco Miglietti
Art's art! ❤️👍
Charles Barry
Fantastic technique