Art Tatum (October 13, 1909 - November 4, 1956) was a famous jazz pianist known for his virtuosic playing and creative improvisation.
Arthur Tatum was born in Toledo, Ohio. From birth he suffered from cataracts which left him with only very limited vision in one eye. He played piano from his youth, and played professionally in Ohio before moving to New York City in 1932.
Tatum drew inspiration from his contemporaries James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, and had a great influence on other famous jazz pianists, such as Thelonious Monk, Chick Corea, and Oscar Peterson.
Tatum was widely recognized among his colleagues as the most gifted jazz pianist alive, some going so far as to say he was one of the greatest pianists of any genre. Ironically, Tatum rarely abandoned the original melodic lines of the songs he played, preferring innovative reharmonization (changing the chord progressions that supported the melodies). He also had a penchant for filling spaces within melodies with trademark runs and other embellishments, which some critics considered gratuitous and "unjazzlike."
Nonetheless, Tatum's playing was tremendously technically impressive, and his reharmonization concepts a generation ahead of their time. When Tatum walked into a club where Fats Waller was playing, Waller supposedly said "I play the piano, but God is in the house tonight."
Art Tatum died in Los Angeles, California.
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