Featured In
ALBUMOn the Sunny Side of the Street (Recorded Live at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Chicago, IL August 16, 1953) - SingleArt Tatum
Albums by Art Tatum
ALBUMThe Great VirtuosoArt Tatum
ALBUMCrazy RhythmArt Tatum
ALBUMThe Magicians of the Swing Piano (Remastered Version)Art Tatum, Earl "Fatha" Hines & Teddy Wilson
ALBUMThe Complete Jazz Chronicle Solo SessionArt Tatum
ALBUMTea for TwoArt Tatum
ALBUMTatum Group Masterpieces, Vol 2Alvin Stoller, Art Tatum, John Simmons & Roy Eldridge
ALBUMArt Tatum: StandardsArt Tatum
ALBUMThe V-DiscsArt Tatum
ALBUMIn PrivateArt Tatum
ALBUMAt the PianoArt Tatum
Artist Playlists
Art Tatum Essentials
The piano great's improvisational grace defied gravity.
Art Tatum: Deep Cuts
The pianist's sophisticated taste in standards served him well.
Artist Biography
Few pianists in jazz history could match the technical fluidity of Art Tatum, an improviser who brought prodigious virtuosity and ornamental generosity to every solo he played. During his heyday between the mid-1930s and the late 1940s, his ability to blend swing and stride in solo and trio settings left listeners in awe of his liquid runs, chord substitutions, and melodic elaboration. Born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1909, Tatum studied classical music briefly at the Toledo School of Music but was primarily self-taught, fastidiously listening to the recordings of stride greats James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. He was recruited by singer Adelaide Hall, moving to New York City and briefly recording with her in 1932, although he returned to Ohio a couple of years later to work in Cleveland. In the coming years he zigzagged between coasts, with stops in Chicago. He recorded numerous solo sides for Decca between the mid-’30s and 1940, but most of them went unreleased for nearly a decade. By the mid-1940s Tatum had become a major attraction, putting his florid spin on tunes from the standard jazz repertoire. He cut a number of solo and trio sides (with bassist Slam Stewart and guitarist Everett Barksdale) for Capitol between 1949 and 1952, and after partnering with jazz impresario Norman Granz he recorded nearly 14 albums’ worth of material in the mid-1950s. Born with impaired vision, he was nearly blind by the time he died from uremia, driven by alcoholism, in 1956. Tatum never varied his sound or approach during his career, but his staggering facility still remains impressive.
Hometown
Toledo, OH, United States
Genre
Jazz