Customer Reviews

Piano Grand Master

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This set is fascinating. Hearing Tatum rip through standard after standard and turn them inside out with his finger play provides for hours of listening pleasure. He was a very gifted pianist capable of riunning from one end of the keyboard to the other at lightning speeds. His precision is also impressive.
I would really only recommend this set with a qualification though. The vast majority of the tracks consist of solo, unbacked Tatum. There are relatively few tracks (less than a quarter of them) that have Art with any kind of back-up. Thus what you hear is mostly piano, piano, piano. The reason I mention this is that it was not clear to me at the time I bought this set that it was going to be like that. If you are interested in hearing Art in a group setting, check out his releases on the Pablo label. If you are ready to hear solo Tatum, then definitely get this collection. I almost want to thank Proper for releasing all of this important old material on these inexpensive sets.

Unlike the other reviewer of this material, I do feel that Art Tatum's work is at its very best when he plays alone. Other musicians simply interfere with what he does and his artistry. The great volumn of the material provided in this collection is simply overwhelming. And probably not meant to be absorbed in great quantities at one setting. It is meant to be comtemplated and to get wrapped up in little by little. Don't listen to too much at one setting; there is simply too much to concentrate on.

We will probably never see the likes of Art Tatum again. Thank goodness that we have collections such as these to listen to and tto learn from.

Art Tatum is generally considered one of the best jazz pianists of all time. For instance, a 2001 survey of listeners of WAER of Syracuse University ranked him second, only behind Oscar Peterson. The set's informative 44 page booklet quotes jazz critic Whitney Balliet from 1968: "He was said to be the greatest jazz pianist who had ever lived and he was said to be not a jazz pianist at all. He was admired by classical pianists ... by jazz musicians, and by dazzled, tin eared laymen."

This bargain-priced box set from Proper gives you 4 CDs of Tatum's earlier recordings, covering his output from 1932 to 1951. This gets you a good sample of his music. The sound is generally good, any flaws being due to problems in the original sources. As other reviewers mentioned, the set consists mostly of solo performances. Note that this set does not include any of the famous recordings produced by Norman Granz on his Clef label in the early 1950s a few years before Tatum died; these are now available on the Pablo label.

I did not know Tatum's music at all before listening to this set. In fact, while I have over 200 Jazz CDs, I don't really have any solo Jazz piano. My initial reaction was that it all sounded kind of monotonous. I could hear that Tatum had excellent technique and did a lot of clever improvising, but I wondered whether I had made a mistake buying a 4 CD set of his music. However, the more I listen to this set, the more I appreciate Tatum's genius and musicality. I'm sure much of it is beyond me since I'm not a musician. Even so, if you listen to this set multiple times and pay close attention, you will discover lots of music to treasure. Even if you don't like it, you're only risking $26.

After I digest this set more thoroughly, I think I'll get some of the Pablo recordings too.

There are those that play the piano from well to excellent. Even I can noodle out and eventually play a song I like that others can recognize.

ART TATUM (1909-1956) did not play songs for the most part, he played the piano allowing the song of title to arrive when he wanted it there.

As a solo artist he would generate so many notes so quickly that another musician, having heard his piano and not knowing the source commented,"Those guys are really good."

This Box Set has Art's instrumentality chronologically from 1932 through 1951. While some titles are duplicated in this set, their inclusion is useful in showing that as masterful as Art was he got better as he continued and did more than duplicate his creativity but continued to add to it through the years.

One can plug in his name on YouTube and see him solo, jam with the Dorsey Brothers and see a piece of his most dynamic sheet music stepped through as a computer plays it. To a musician it is profoundly interesting. To a budding pianist they are essential demonstrations. As entertainment, this jazz blows the roof off of the house and into orbit.

Once you're hooked this Box Set will feed your habit. Once you have these basics, some of his 1951 to 1955 combo jams are in a Centennial Celebration CD.