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"Tea for Two" was another of his greatest cutting arrangements, and he doesn't tinkle the ivories here - he warps them.In some ways he was the antithesis of great ensemble players like Basie or Wilson, and for those who can only appreciate jazz when played in groups, perhaps Tatum is not the player for you. His playing was so fast that other great jazz players struggled to simply keep up so few of the group recordings that included Tatum were as remarkable as his solo work.This great set includes several of his signature cutting tunes.
(A terrific fictional one occurs in the film "The Legend of 1900" between the title character and Jelly Roll Morton). They began in the 1920s and continued on into the 1940s.
Cutting contests are like musical duels, and the great ones become things of legend. Johnson, Teddy Wilson, Willie "The Lion" Smith and every other contestant of the day were "cut" by the great Tatum.It is perhaps in this endeavor - solo jazz stride piano - that Tatum showed his greatest genius.
Once Art Tatum arrived on the scene the outcome of the cutting contests were not in doubt. Fats Waller, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Count Basie, James P.
"Tiger Rag" is here and you'll see what was meant when it was said that it sounds as if three people are playing. But for Waller and Oscar Peterson and a legion of adoring admirers - Art Tatum was simply the man.
I have another archival performance that was recorded at the home of the music director of Warner Brothers when Tatum was in LA, about 1957, 10 years after the concert from which most of this record was adapted, and this doesn't suffer by comparison, its just different. I felt a little like watching an animated movie - you've got to be able to suspend disbelief a bit and let Tatum play for you, forgetting its a high tech player piano making the music; when I thought about the technology, the music at times sounded player-like, less nuanced than real performance. But then I'd let that go and the clarity, Tatum's speed and musicality would sweep me up, very fine performances. This is like a new studio record in the man's prime, but with that slightly "Is it real or is it Memorex." nag, while the party recording is so authentic and intimate but you hear the technical limitations of date and tape equipment. My guess is that Zenph is going to do wonderful things with this technology as it evolves and I will mos def buy more from them.
Par for the course I guess. No imaging whatsoever, very midrange heavy, no crispness or nuance to the piano's sound.
The performance is good -- indistinguishable from the real/original Art Tatum recording as far as I can tell, although without the noise of course -- but as far as how they mic'd this piano, it is dead, dead, dead. I just don't get it since this disc is supposed to be all about sound quality.The disc has 2 versions of the recordings on it (13 songs x 2).
I'm sorry to say that this SACD is one of the dullest recordings I've ever heard. They do show up when I insert it in my mac, and sound marginally better, but still not great.
The first is a "Stereo Surround Version" (from their oxymoron dept, I guess), and it sounds like the added in way too much hall ambiance or recorded it from the far back of the auditorium. Tracks 14-26 are supposed to be the "Binaural Stereo Version: The Ultimate Headphone Experience" although they aren't included in the SACD portion of the disc (it's a hybrid).
I've heard better player pianos in Nordstrom's.To top it all off, it took Zenph Studios over a month to even get around to sending me a confirmation of my order, and when I later tried to add some feedback, Amazon said they weren't yet eligible for feedback (). My recommendation is to avoid this academic exercise and pick up the original recording with all the charm and dynamics of the 1940s recording technology.
What can I say about the greatest jazz pianist who ever lived. His cadenzas used the whole keyboard. He was admired by all his contemporaries, and influenced all jazz pianists who have come after him. The clarity of this recording is the best that modern technology can produce.
Five stars do not do Art Tatum justice. What more needs to be said. If other pianists receive a five-star review, Tatum deserves six or seven. He is the pianistic equivalent of turning the volume up to 11, and his reputation as one of the greatest pianists in any genre who ever lived is totally justified -- a combination of phenomenal technique without bombast, incredible creativity, unfailing swing and impeccable taste. I owned the "Piano Starts Here" LP on vinyl, and am so pleased to have it re-released on CD - I don't know what the "zenph" reperformance stuff is about, but it sounds like the same performances as on the original LP, the sound quality is great, every note is there to marvel at, and my only regret is that I was born too late to ever have the opportunity to see this genius perform live. An essential addition to the library of anyone who considers themselves a fan of piano music.
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