THE ART OF TATUM VOL 1
by Art Tatum

Art Tatum's recorded legacy reveals an unusual relationship between the pianist, the popular song repertoire of his time, and the piano itself. Between 1934 and 1944, Tatum returned again and again to the solo format, transforming familiar songs into highly individual performances in which melody, harmony, rhythm and ornamentation could all be developed simultaneously.

The recordings gathered here begin with Tatum's Decca sessions of 1934, made in New York shortly after he had established himself as one of the most talked-about pianists in the city. By then he had already spent years playing in Toledo and Cleveland, working in clubs and absorbing music from records, radio and other musicians. His extraordinary musical memory and unusually developed ear allowed him to retain large amounts of musical information and transform it at the piano. The Library of Congress notes that his training included both formal musical study and exposure to jazz pianists such as Earl Hines and James P. Johnson. He also studied the harmonic language of Debussy and Ravel.

Tatum had been working professionally in clubs since his youth. In Toledo and Cleveland he played neighborhood engagements, clubs and speakeasies before moving to New York in 1932 as an accompanist for Adelaide Hall. He subsequently became a solo pianist on the New York club circuit. In 1933 he appeared at the Onyx Club on 52nd Street, and during the following years his career developed through an almost continuous movement between clubs, restaurants and other performance spaces in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The club environment was important to Tatum's development. He was not simply presenting a fixed repertoire night after night; long engagements and informal playing allowed him to test ideas before audiences and fellow musicians. His playing could be intensely arranged in conception while remaining spontaneous in detail. Contemporary accounts repeatedly describe the effect his performances had on other musicians. His technique was startling, but technique alone does not explain the character of these recordings. Tatum's distinctive achievement was to combine an astonishing command of the keyboard with an equally strong sense of harmonic direction.

The characteristics that became associated with Tatum were already clearly present in the early recordings: an exceptionally active left hand, sophisticated chord substitutions, rapid runs and arpeggios, and a remarkably flexible approach to rhythm. Leonard Feather, writing about Tatum's early recordings, emphasized the combination of stride-derived left-hand patterns, harmonic substitutions and fast melodic passages.

Tatum's harmonic language was particularly influential. He used extended chords containing ninths, elevenths and thirteenths and frequently substituted harmonies beneath familiar melodies. His music could therefore sound unexpectedly dense even when the underlying song was completely familiar. At the same time, his playing retained an unmistakable connection with earlier stride piano. His work reflected the influence of Fats Waller in its rich sonority and rhythmic foundation, while the harmonic daring and melodic velocity of Earl Hines can also be heard in his approach.

The 1937 recordings included in this collection show Tatum working with songs that had already become part of the American popular repertoire: Gone with the Wind, Stormy Weather, Chloe and The Sheik of Araby. Two years later, Tea for Two and Deep Purple demonstrate his ability to take melodies associated with musical theatre and popular song and reshape them into extended piano statements.

Tatum's life was still deeply connected with clubs throughout this period. In the middle of the 1930s he worked at Chicago's Three Deuces and later moved between Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. In Los Angeles he appeared at venues including the Paramount, the Trocadero, the Melody Grill and Club Alabam, while also becoming a sought-after performer at private Hollywood gatherings. After returning to New York, he played at venues such as the Famous Door, Cafe Society and Kelly's Stables.

His 1938 visit to England provided an interesting contrast to the American club experience. Tatum encountered audiences who listened quietly and attentively, and he appreciated the atmosphere. Accounts of his later New York engagements likewise describe restaurant audiences who came specifically to hear him and were unusually attentive to his playing.

The 1940 Decca sessions represented another important stage in his solo work. Here Tatum moves freely between standards, popular songs and classical repertoire. Humoresque and Massenet's Élégie sit alongside Sweet Lorraine, Get Happy, Lullaby of the Leaves, Tiger Rag and Cocktails for Two. The juxtaposition is characteristic of Tatum: the boundaries between popular song, jazz repertoire and European concert music were relatively open in his playing.

There is also a strong rhythmic dimension to these performances. Tatum could begin with a recognizable melody and then rapidly alter its internal rhythmic proportions through displaced accents, syncopation and ornamental figures. Rather than simply decorating the tune, he often treated the melody as the starting point for a continuously developing harmonic and rhythmic structure. His remarkable control meant that extremely rapid passages could remain clearly articulated rather than becoming merely displays of velocity.

This combination of speed, harmony and clarity also explains why Tatum's influence extended far beyond pianists. Musicians associated with the emerging bebop movement listened closely to his harmonic ideas, and later pianists including Bud Powell and Bill Evans absorbed elements of his approach. The Library of Congress notes the enduring impact of his phrasing even on musicians of later generations.

The final four recordings in this collection come from New York on December 21, 1944. They return to the completely solo format after Tatum's increasingly active work with small groups and, by this point, anticipate the broader place the solo piano would occupy in his later career. It Had to Be You, Ja-Da, Where or When and Fine and Dandy are compact performances, but they contain the essential elements of Tatum's mature vocabulary: harmonic substitution, rhythmic variation, elaborate inner voices and an exceptionally fluid technique.

During 1943–44 Tatum was also working in his celebrated trio with guitarist Tiny Grimes and bassist Slam Stewart. The trio became an important part of his career, but the solo piano remained the most direct expression of his musical personality. In the solo recordings there is no rhythm section to define the pulse and no other instrument to occupy the harmonic space. Tatum creates the complete musical texture himself.

Listening across this ten-year period makes it possible to hear both continuity and development. The astonishing technique is already apparent in 1934. What changes is not the fundamental vocabulary but the extent to which Tatum was able to refine it: greater harmonic freedom, increasingly subtle rhythmic displacement, and an even more complete control of the piano as both a melodic and orchestral instrument.

These recordings therefore document more than virtuosity. They preserve the sound of a musician who spent much of his professional life in clubs, restaurants and informal playing environments, where familiar songs could be reconsidered night after night. Tatum's achievement was to make those songs sound newly constructed without losing their underlying identity. The result is a body of solo piano work in which popular repertoire becomes a vehicle for an exceptionally personal musical language.

EU Public Domain Notice
The historical sound recordings included in this release are in the public domain in the European Union. Blue Music Group has created a new digital restoration and mastering of these historical recordings. The digital restoration and mastering by Blue Music Group are protected by applicable copyright and related rights. Rights may differ in other territories, including the United States. This release is not intended for distribution in the United States.

Cover artwork: The original photographic image has been legally assessed as being in the public domain in the EU following the expiry of the applicable 50-year term under Section 49a. The image has been restored, enhanced and colorized by Blue Music Group. © Blue Music Group. All rights reserved.

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