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."
Memories Of You
Art Tatum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every sunset too
Seems to be bringing me
Memories of you
Here and there, everywhere
Scenes that we once knew
And they all just recall
How I wish, I could forget those
Those happy yesteryears
That have left a rosary of tears
Your face beams in my dreams
'Spite of all I do
Everything seems to bring
Memories of you
And your face beams in my dreams
'Spite of all I do
Everything seems to bring
Memories, just memories of you
The lyrics of "Memories Of You" by Art Tatum and Buddy DeFranco speaks of the nostalgia that one experiences after a heartbreak. The opening line, "Waking skies at sunrise, every sunset too" implies that every day, both in the morning and evening, reminds the singer of the person they have lost. The memories are triggered by familiar scenes that the couple once knew, and the singer wishes they could forget the former happy moments that now bring only tears. However, despite their efforts to move on, their former partner's face appears in their dreams and every little thing around them only reminds them of the memories they shared with their former lover.
Line by Line Meaning
Waking skies at sunrise
The sunrise reminds me of you
Every sunset too
The sunset reminds me of you
Seems to be bringing me
Everything brings back memories of you
Memories of you
I can't escape the memories of you
Here and there, everywhere
I'm reminded of you everywhere I go
Scenes that we once knew
Everything reminds me of the past times we shared
And they all just recall
Every memory brings you back to my mind
How I wish, I could forget those
I wish I could forget the happy moments we had
Those happy yesteryears
The times we shared together
That have left a rosary of tears
That have left me with so many tears
Your face beams in my dreams
Your face appears in my dreams
'Spite of all I do
No matter what I try to do
Everything seems to bring
Everything reminds me of
Memories of you
The memories I have of you
And your face beams in my dreams
Your face frequently appears in my dreams
'Spite of all I do
No matter what I try to do
Everything seems to bring
Everything reminds me of
Memories, just memories of you
All I have left are memories of you
Lyrics © SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC., BMG Rights Management, Songtrust Ave
Written by: Andy Razaf, Eubie Blake
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ajpr3404
Thank you "bluesinorbit" for this unforgetable "Memories of Art Tatum"
@rubinromeo4125
Extra beautiful. Thanks.
@babalonworking6
Another level...! More is more with Tatum...!!!
@jimthompson606
I think that at about 1:25 he plays the melody of "To a Wild Rose" This is my favorite Art Tatum recording
@luthergwilliams3436
This song was an occasion for Art to not only celebrate one of the finest songs in popular music but also pay tribute to composer and fellow pianist Eubie Blake, much the same way he did with “Ain’t Misbehavin’” in 1943 after Fats Waller’s death. One shouldn’t miss the exalted context of this performance, which is why Art infuses it with such abundant contemplation, intelligence, and above all, soul. It is, in my opinion, one of Art’s very greatest performances.
@jimthompson606
Luther, you have just put into beautiful words what I feel about this performance. Thank you.
@luthergwilliams3436
@@jimthompson606 Thank YOU, Jim!
@Santosificationable
From what piece is that quoted from?
@16yearoldwhiteboy
Yeah he said if he played classical he would quit. Don't feel bad he made Les Paul quit playing piano permanently and Oscar Peterson quit for a month anyway
@Santosificationable
wut? Hey come on. It isn't that easy. Google it for me.