Art Tatum Essay

From the time Tatum was born(p) on Oct. 13, 1909 in Toledo, Ohio, he was destined for revolutionizing jazz. He was born with a concealment eye and the other partially blind, scarce his ears were his way of seeing the world. He could sit down and crop the same music meant for cardinal communicates. He was unbeatable at any piano competition. His influence on jazz will be forever respected by jazz pianists (and non-pianists) worldwide.As a child, dodge received a little formal training for piano at Toledo School of Music, but he mainly just taught himself. By the age of 18, he was already playing for radio broadcasts and even had his own show at one point. By age 24, he wrote and released Tiger Rag, a song fully equipped with fast beats, incredibly technological rhythms, and the need for skill. As he continued in his musical career, his articulation, style, and individuality only got better.Art changed the entire face of jazz music. He helped lead the next generation into the b ebop era. He was the musician that started to change the chord progressions, fingered with the harmonics, and tried vernal inversions of different chords (to get a more jazzy sound). Tatum was able to use his classical background and his jazzy style to create his own type of music. It was technical and complex, but still full of the freestyle that jazz so easily expresses. He used his left-handedness to create extreme bass parts and his right hand to create beautiful runs up and down the entire piano.Art had incredible ears. Although he was nearly blind in one eye and completely blind in the other, he could see perfectly when it came to music. It was give tongue to that Tatum could find the dominant note in a flushing toilet. He had incredible pitch, so he knew scarce which notes would sound perfect with the others. In regard to his piano, they called him, God because he was so good. Tatum never stopped playing piano. It was his life. As one man said, Tatum played so brilliantly and so muchthat I thought the piano was gonna break. My mother left the roomso I said Whats wrong, Mama? And she said Oh, that man plays too much piano.Even extremely critical people would compliment him for his piano skills. Whenever he ever entered a competition for piano, he never lost. Arts style of music was not the simple, easy music that anybody could play. His technique was mastered. He had the most intricate ornamentation in every controversy of a song he played. Not only that, but he didnt even seem like he was trying. As he pounded away(p) at the keys, it didnt seem like pounding but more floating. It seemed so effortless to him. Hank Jones said, When I finally met him and got a chance to hear him play in person, it seemed as if he wasnt really exerting much effort, he had an effortless way of playing.It was deceptive. Youd watch him and you couldnt believe what was coming out, what was comer your ears. He didnt have that much motion at the piano. He didnt make a big s how of moving around and gesture his hands and going through all sorts of physical gyrations to produce the music that he produced, so that in itself is amazing. There had to be intense concentration there, but you couldnt tell by just looking at him play. Tatum was revolutionary. He led future jazz musicians into the next era of jazz. He had the skill and the genius of a genius, and for that, he will never be forgotten.Resourceshttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_TatumStylehttp//www.duke.edu/njh3/biography.html