By amateur historian/jazzman Lester, the first bio of legendary
jazz pianist Tatum. Lester is the first to admit that he's in over
his head in attempting this book, an ominous foreboding of the
quality of the work to come. Still, his labor-of-love is based on
some original scholarship, including interviews with the remaining
musicians who knew the legend at firsthand (although Tatum's second
wife and surviving relatives refused to be interviewed, as did
important figures like jazz promoter Norman Granz). Tatum developed
a highly idiosyncratic style of playing based on impressionistic
harmonies, dazzling arpeggios and runs (that some find overly
fussy), and polyrhythms and polyharmonies, forging a uniquely
personal technique few could copy. His incredible capacity for
alcohol, almost photographic memory for melodies and song
structures, competitiveness when faced with challenges by other
pianists, and essentially gentle nature are all well-documented,
but in the end, even so, Lester fails to give us a well-rounded
life story. Tatum was an intensely private man and few knew him
well; even the facts of his life are up for grabs. He may or may
not have been born visually impaired: his loss of vision may have
been due to childhood disease, a run-in with a neighborhood tough,
or cataracts. He was married twice, having at least one child (and
perhaps two others). The extent of his musical education is
unknown. Lester spends most of his narrative in a fog, unable to
sort fiction from fact. His analysis of Tatum's genius runs to
truism ("[His] remarkable memory was still remarkable"), and he
suffers from an inferiority complex toward classical performers:
comparing Tatum with keyboard legends like Vladimir Horowitz, he
asserts that Tatum was really a "piano stylist," not a jazz
musician, thus continuing the myth that jazz is a poor stepchild to
"serious," classical music. Well-intentioned but frustrating.
(Kirkus Reviews)
Art Tatum was the greatest virtuoso performer in the history of jazz piano; his technique overwhelmed almost every jazz player who heard him and caused classical virtuosos to take notice.
Through extensive interviews with Tatum's friends and fellow musicians, James Lester captures the complexities of this remarkable talent and the vibrant jazz world of the 1930s and 1940s in which he played.
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