[78-L] Art Tatum 100th birthday

[simmonssomer]

You're not missing a thing. Those runs are intrusive and overused.
The constant key changes are showy stuff.
He was an incredible technician and had the talent to be a great stride or 
swing pianist.
He was both but he was too damned busy at the keyboard .
It intruded on the message.

Al Simmons

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Taylor Bowie" <bowiebks at isomedia.com>
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 11:56 PM
Subject: [78-L] Art Tatum 100th birthday


>I learned a while ago that today October 13th was the 100th anniversary of
> the birth of Art Tatum,  so I thought that would be a  good occasion to 
> stir
> up some trouble.
>
> Some people prefer traveling in something along the lines of the SST,
> because it is fast,  sleek,  mechanicaly complex,  etc.   Gets you there
> before you know it!
>
> That's all fine,  but going so fast I think you miss a lot of scenery 
> which
> is part of what makes the trip enjoyable.
>
> And that's pretty much what I think of the playing of Art Tatum.  Yes,  it
> is impressive.  Yes,  he has technique to spare.  But I always get the
> feeling that he is not so much interpreting the melody as discecting it 
> into
> little pieces...kind of like a surgeon doing an autopsy.
>
> Plus,  after a while,  you can always tell where and when he will make one
> of his little "runs" with which he likes to punctuate his playing.  I 
> never
> experience the kind of joy or surprise in his work which I find in many
> other players.  It seems so calculated.
>
> When a record of his is over...I don't feel any sense of
> satisfaction....more like exhaustion.
>
> But year after year you read that he is the "greatest" piano player in 
> jazz,
> blah blah blah.
>
> To me his playing  seems more like a stunt than music ...cold, clinical 
> and
> machine like...disigned to get into the Guinness Book of Records as "most
> piano notes played in ten seconds."
>
> So Tatum fans...tell me what it is I'm missing.
>
>
> Taylor
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 78-L mailing list
> 78-L at klickitat.78online.com
> http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinfo/78-l