If you turn off the sound and just look at them, you'd never guess the intensity of the playing. How can they keep their bodies so relaxed and generate such energy?
Wes Montgomery. Not a care, brother.
Charlie Parker. Yes, he's dubbing, but that's how he looked when he played.
Freddie Hubbard. The trumpet is too hard to really make it look easy, but how hard he blows isn't reflected in how he looks.
Errol Garner. Elfin.
Big Sid Catlett. Big man dances with ease.
Johnny Hodges. Intensity in the eyes, but no tension in his body.
Art Tatum.Falling off a log (perched on a 100-story skyscraper)
Lester Young. Just. Cool.
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Showing posts with label Art Tatum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art Tatum. Show all posts
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Saturday, August 27, 2011
The Tatum FIles by S.G.Provizer
I'm sure this has been bruited about more than several times in the jazz blogs, but hell, the skies are dark and the wind is howling. So, the question is re-asked: To honor, worship and adore Art Tatum? My answer: I will honor and, in a limited sense worship, but not adore. Yes; no one ever played "more" piano, but sometimes more says "too much."
Friday, February 18, 2011
Who is Art Tatum Dating? by Steve Provizer
Trying to figure out the saturation coverage of George Shearing's recent death; coverage equal to that given over to Billy Taylor. Taylor was a creative musician, not a musical innovator, but his work as activist/mentor/educator kept his profile very high. The attention made sense.
Shearing's sheer longevity may be vaguely at play here, as is the rarity of a jazz musician who sold millions of records. To my ears, Shearing's music is pleasurable and well-crafted but unexciting. He was capable of playing any style, but the chosen format of his most well-known groups was harmonically consonant and the soloing, while very adept, lacked edge.
Media exposure is the big player. Shearing, while blind, was a prodigy, white-British even-and a jocular pun-maker. In a hyphenated word: media-genic.
For comparison, let's throw Art Tatum into the equation.
Like Shearing, Tatum was blind and a prodigy, but Tatum's musical impact was widespread and unassailable.
Shearing was a quirky, but user-friendly public representative of the jazz world; one of a handful of jazz musicians who showed up regularly on TV. Tatum seems to have been something of a cipher. Comments on his music are many, those on his personality few. He was not photogenic.
Despite Tatum's musical contributions, there are very few obits in 1956, the year of his death. In fact, there are 2 different dates listed for Tatum's death: Nov 4th and 5th. You can throw some of the blame on jazz magazines, which are notoriously derelict at putting their old stuff online. Some gleanings:
Wikipedia deaths give you Lugosi, Brecht and Pollock, but not Tatum. Wikipedia Commons does list him.
A brief Jet Obituary
The Times Obituary of the era.
Jazz Monthly in Britain had an obit
A brief graf in Billboard
Apart from jazz websites, there are a couple of "modern" mentions of Tatum: One site says: "But even the passing of a giant such as Art Tatum didn't create much stir elsewhere in the world. The Presidential election was on most people's minds, the crisis in Hungary and the Cold War all grabbed headlines, relegating the death of this true genius to the back pages in the obituary notices."
I'm not sure the Cold War really explains it.
The other contemporary non-jazz site that references Tatum offers the vital information: Who Art Tatum is Dating.
So, will a media-genic musician will always draw more attention?
Stupid question.
Shearing's sheer longevity may be vaguely at play here, as is the rarity of a jazz musician who sold millions of records. To my ears, Shearing's music is pleasurable and well-crafted but unexciting. He was capable of playing any style, but the chosen format of his most well-known groups was harmonically consonant and the soloing, while very adept, lacked edge.
Media exposure is the big player. Shearing, while blind, was a prodigy, white-British even-and a jocular pun-maker. In a hyphenated word: media-genic.
For comparison, let's throw Art Tatum into the equation.
Like Shearing, Tatum was blind and a prodigy, but Tatum's musical impact was widespread and unassailable.Shearing was a quirky, but user-friendly public representative of the jazz world; one of a handful of jazz musicians who showed up regularly on TV. Tatum seems to have been something of a cipher. Comments on his music are many, those on his personality few. He was not photogenic.
Despite Tatum's musical contributions, there are very few obits in 1956, the year of his death. In fact, there are 2 different dates listed for Tatum's death: Nov 4th and 5th. You can throw some of the blame on jazz magazines, which are notoriously derelict at putting their old stuff online. Some gleanings:
Wikipedia deaths give you Lugosi, Brecht and Pollock, but not Tatum. Wikipedia Commons does list him.
A brief Jet Obituary
The Times Obituary of the era.
Jazz Monthly in Britain had an obit
A brief graf in Billboard
Apart from jazz websites, there are a couple of "modern" mentions of Tatum: One site says: "But even the passing of a giant such as Art Tatum didn't create much stir elsewhere in the world. The Presidential election was on most people's minds, the crisis in Hungary and the Cold War all grabbed headlines, relegating the death of this true genius to the back pages in the obituary notices."
I'm not sure the Cold War really explains it.
The other contemporary non-jazz site that references Tatum offers the vital information: Who Art Tatum is Dating.
So, will a media-genic musician will always draw more attention?
Stupid question.
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