Art Tatum

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Art Tatum
Art Tatum, 1946
Kabatiran
Pangalan noong ipinanganak	Arthur Tatum, Jr.
Kapanganakan	13 Oktubre 1909(1909-10-13) Toledo, Ohio, Estados Unidos
Kamatayan	5 Nobyembre 1956(1956-11-05) (edad 47) Los Angeles, California, Estados Unidos
Genre	Jazz, stride
Trabaho	Pianista ng musikang Jazz
Instrumento	Piano
Taong aktibo	1927–1956
Label	Verve, Folkways

Si Arthur "Art" Tatum, Jr. ( /ˈte?t?m/, 13 Oktubre 1909 – 5 Nobyembre 1956) ay isang Amerikanong jazz pianist at birtuoso na may kahanga-hangang kakayahang tumugtog sa kabila ng pagiging halos bulag mula sa kapanganakan.

Si Tatum ay itinuturing na isa sa pinakadakilang pyanista sa kasaysayan ng jazz^[1] at siya ay isang pangunahing impluwensiya para sa mga susunod na henerasyon ng mga jazz pianist. Kilala rin siya para sa pagkasikot at bilis ng kanyang paglalaro, na nagtatag ng bagong pamantayan para sa birtuosidad ng jazz piano. Nagsulat ang kritikong si Scott Yanow, "Ang maliliksing reflexes at walang-hanggang imahinasyon ni Tatum ay nagpanatili sa kanyang mga improvisasyon na puno ng sariwa (at minsan maka-kinabukasang) mga ideya na nagpauna sa kanya sa kanyang mga kontemporaryo ... hanggang ngayon, ang mga rekording ni Art Tatum ay may abilidad pang takutin ang mga modernong pyanista."^[2]

Para sa isang napakadakilang musikero, kaunting-kaunti lamang ang nailathalang impormasyon tungkol sa kanyang buhay. Isang kumpletong talambuhay lang ang nailathala, ang Too Marvelous for Words, ni James Lester.^[3] Nakipagpanayam si Lester sa mga kontemporaryo ni Tatum para sa aklat at gumuhit mula sa mga artikulong inilathala tungkol sa kanya.

Ipinanganak si Tatum sa Toledo, Ohio. Ang kanyang ama, si Arthur Tatum, Sr., ay isang gitarista at elder sa Grace Presbyterian Church, kung saan ang kanyang ina, si Mildred Hoskins, ay isang pyanista.^[4] Dalawa ang kanyang kapatid, sina Karl at Arlene.^[5] Mula sa pagkabata, may sakit siyang cataracts na nagpabulag sa isa niyang mata at limitadong paningin sa kabila. Ilang surgical procedures ay bahagyang nagpabuti sa kundisyon ng kanyang mata ngunit ilan sa mga benepisyo ay bumaligtad noong siya ay inatake sa 1930 sa edad na 20.^[6]

Isang child prodigy na may perfect pitch, nag-aral si Tatum ng uwido, nakapagpili ng mga awit pangsimba sa edad na tatlo, nag-aaral ng mga tugtugin mula sa radyo at kumokopya ng mga piano-roll recordings ng kanyang ina. Sa isang panayam ng Voice of America, tinanggi niya ang mitong diumanong nakakapagtugtog siya ng piano roll para sa dalawang piyanista.^[7] Nakabuo siya ng kamangha-manghang mabilis na estilong pagtugtog, ng may perpektong katumpakan. Bilang bata, sensitibo rin siya sa intonation ng piano at siniguradong madalas itong nakatono.^[8] Bagaman ang pagtugtog ng piano ay ang pinakahalatang pagpapairal ng kanyang mga pisikal at mental na kasanayan, mayroon rin siyang ensiklopedikong memorya ng mga istatistikang Major League Baseball.

Noong 1925, lumipat si Tatum sa Columbus School for the Blind, kung saan siya nag-aral ng musika at braille. Pagkaraan, nakipag-aral siya ng piano kina Overton G. Rainey sa Jefferson School o sa Toledo School of Music. Si Rainey, na may limitadong paningin sa mata, ay malamang nagturo kay Tatum sa tradisyong klasikal, sapagkat hindi nag-improvise si Rainey at pinapinigil ang kanyang mga estudyante na tumugtog ng jazz.^[9] Noong 1927, nagsimulang tumugtog si Tatum sa Toledo radio station WSPD bilang 'Arthur Tatum, Toledo's Blind Pianist', sa mga intermisyon sa Ellen Kay's shopping chat program at madaling nagkaroon ng kanyang sariling programa.^[10] Sa edad ng 19, nakapaglaro si Tatum sa lokal na Waiters' and Bellmens' Club.^[11] Nang kumalat ang tungkol kay Tatum, ang mga pambansang musikerong dumaraan sa Toledo, kabilang sina Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Joe Turner at Fletcher Henderson, ay dumalaw upang pakinggan ang kahanga-hangang pyanista.

Kumuha si Tatum ng inspirasyon mula sa mga pyanistang sina James P. Johnson at Fats Waller, na naging halimbawa ng estilong stride piano, at mula sa mas "moderno" na si Earl Hines, anim na taong nakatatanda sa kanya. Itinuring ni Tatum si Waller bilang kanyang pangunahing impluwensiya, ngunit ani pyanistang si Teddy Wilson at saxophonist na si Eddie Barefield, "Ang paboritong jazz pianist ni Art Tatum ay si Earl Hines. Binibili niya ang lahat ng mga rekord ni Earl at nag-improvise sa kanila. Nilalaro niya ang rekording at pinag-improvise niya ang pagtugtog ni Earl ..... Siyempre, kapag narinig mong maglaro si Art, wala ka nang maririnig kundi si Art. Pero nakuha niya ang kanyang mga ideya mula sa estilong pagtugtog ni Earl – ngunit 'di ito kailanman nalaman ni Earl."^[12] Isang pangunahing pangyayari sa kanyang napakabilis na pag-unlad ay ang kanyang paglitaw sa isang cutting contest noong 1933 sa Morgan's bar, New York City. Kasama rito sina Fats Waller, James P. Johnson and Willie "The Lion" Smith. Itinanghal ang mga pyesang Harlem Strut at Carolina Shout ni Johnson, at ang Handful of Keys ni Fats Waller. Nagwagi si Tatum nang tugtugin niya ang kanyang Tea for Two at Tiger Rag, sa tanghal na itinuring na pinakahuli sa kasaysayan ng stride piano. Si James P. Johnson, sa paggunita tungkol kay Tatum pagkatapos, ay nagsabi, "Nang itugtog ni Tatum ang Tea For Two nang gabing iyon, marahil iyon ang unang pagkakataon kong marinig itong tunay na itinugtog." ^[13] Ang pag-angat ni Tatum's ay makasaysayan dahil nagwagi siya sa elitistang kumpetisyon at nagwakas sa stride era. Hindi siya muli hinamon hanggang ang stride specialist na si Donald Lambert ay nagsimula ng di-seryosong pagpapangagaw sa kanya.

Nagtrabaho muna si Tatum sa Toledo at Cleveland, at pagkatapos sa New York sa Onyx Club nang ilang buwan; ni-rekord niya ang kanyang unang apat na solo sides sa Brunswick label noong March 1933.^[5] Bumalik siya sa Ohio kung saan tumugtog siya sa American midwest - Toledo, Cleveland, Detroit, Saint Louis at Chicago - noong mid-1930s at tumugtog sa Fleischman Hour radio program, hosted ni Judy Vallee noong 1935. Naglaro din siya ng stints sa Three Deuces sa Chicago, at sa Los Angeles ay tumugtog sa The Trocadero, sa Paramount, at sa Club Alabam.^[14] Sa 1937, bumalik siya sa New York kung saan nagpakita siya sa mga klab at tumugtog sa mga pambansang programang panradyo.^[11] Sa susunod na taon nag-embarka sa Queen Mary papunta sa England kung saan siya naglibot,^[15] tumutugtog ng tatlong buwan sa Ciro's Club, pag-aari ng bandleader na si Ambrose. Sa late 1930s bumalik siya sa pagtugtog at pagrekord sa Los Angeles at New York.

Noong 1941, nag-rekord si Tatum ng dalawang sesyon para sa Decca Records kasama ang mang-aawit na si Big Joe Turner, ang una dito na nagsama sa Wee Wee Baby Blues, na nakakuha ng pambansang popularidad. Dalawang taon pagkatapos, nanalo ni Tatum ang unang jazz popularity poll ng Esquire Magazine. Marahil sa paniwalang limitado ang mga nakikinig sa solo piano, bumuo si Tatum ng trio sa 1943 kabilang ang gitaristang si Tiny Grimes at bassistang si Slam Stewart, na may perfect pitch na nagbigay sa kanya ng kakayahang sundan ang mga iskursyon ni Tatum. Eksklusibong nag-rekord si Tatum sa trio ng halos dalawang taon, ngunit bumalik sa solo piano noong 1945. Bagaman isinamba si Tatum ng karamihang musikerong jazz, bumaba ang kanyang katanyagan sa gitna hanggang huling forties sa pagsikat ng bebop - isang kilusang hindi niyakap ni Tatum.

Sa dalawang huling taon ng kanyang buhay, regular ang pagtugtog ni Tatum sa Baker's Keyboard Lounge sa Detroit, kasama ang huli niyang publikong tanghal sa Abril 1956.^[16] Bago ito, personal na pinili at binili ni Tatum para kay Clarence Baker ang Steinway piano sa Baker's, na nahanap sa isang New York showroom, at inilipat sa Detroit.^[17]

Pumanaw si Art Tatum sa Queen of Angels Medical Center sa Los Angeles, California dulot ng mga kumplikasyong uremia (epekto ng kidney failure). Una siyang inilibing sa Angelus Rosedale Cemetery sa Los Angeles, ngunit inilipat sa Great Mausoleum ng Glendale's Forest Lawn Cemetery noong 1991^{[kailangan ng sanggunian]}. Nilagpasan siya ng kanyang asawa, si Geraldine Tatum. Pumanaw si Geraldine noong May 4, 2010 sa Los Angeles, at inilibing sa tabi ni Art sa Forest Lawn Cemetery.^[18]

Tatum built upon stride and classical piano influences to develop a novel and unique piano style. He introduced a strong, swinging pulse to jazz piano, highlighted with spectacular cadenzas that swept across the entire keyboard. His interpretations of popular songs were exuberant, sophisticated, grandiose and intricate. Jazz soloing in the 1930s had not yet evolved into the free-ranging extended improvisations that flowered in the bebop era of the 1940s, 1950s and beyond. But jazz musicians were beginning to incorporate improvisation while playing over the chord changes of tunes, and Tatum was a leader in that movement. He sometimes improvised lines that presaged bebop and later jazz genres, although generally not venturing far from the original melodic line. Tatum embellished melodic lines, however, with an array of signature devices and runs that appeared throughout his repertoire. As he matured, Tatum became more adventurous in abandoning the written melody and elongating his improvisations.

Tatum's unique sound was attributable to his harmonic inventiveness as well as technical prowess. He was an innovator in reharmonizing melodies by changing the supporting chord progressions or by altering the root movements of a piece. This technique casts a familiar theme in a fresh light and gives the music an unexpected quality. Many of his harmonic concepts and larger chord voicings (e.g., 13th chords with various flat or sharp intervals) were well ahead of their time in the 1930s (except for their partial emergence in popular songs of the jazz age) and they would be explored by bebop-era musicians a decade later. He worked some of the upper extensions of chords into his lines, a practice which was further developed by Bud Powell and Charlie Parker, which in turn was an influence on the development of 'modern jazz'. Tatum also pioneered the use of dissonance in jazz piano, as can be heard, for example, on his recording of "Aunt Hagar's Blues",^[19] which uses extensive dissonance to achieve a bluesy effect. In addition to using major and minor seconds, dissonance was inherent in the complex chords that Tatum frequently used.

Tatum could also play the blues with authority. Pianist Jay McShann, not known for showering compliments on his rivals said "Art could really play the blues. To me, he was the world's greatest blues player, and I think few people realized that." ^[20] His repertoire, however, was predominantly Broadway and popular standards, whose chord progressions and variety better suited his talents. His approach was elaborate, pyrotechnic, dramatic and joyous. His protean style combined stride, jazz, swing, boogie-woogie and classical elements, while the musical ideas flowed in rapid-fire fashion. Benny Green wrote in his collected work of essays, The Reluctant Art, that "Tatum has been the only jazz musician to date who has made an attempt to conceive a style based upon all styles, to master the mannerisms of all schools and then synthesize those into something personal." ^[21] He was playful, spontaneous and often inserted quotes from other songs into his improvisations.^[22] Tatum was not inclined toward understatement or expansive use of space. He seldom played in a simplified way, preferring interpretations that displayed his great technique and clever harmonizations. When jazz pianist Stanley Cowell was growing up in Toledo, his father prevailed upon Tatum to play piano at the Cowell home. Stanley described the scene as, "Tatum played so brilliantly and so much . . . that I thought the piano was gonna break. My mother left the room . . . so I said 'What's wrong, Mama?' And she said 'Oh, that man plays too much piano.'" ^[23] A handful of critics, notably Keith Jarret, have complained that Tatum played too many notes^[24] or was too ornamental or was even 'unjazzlike'. Jazz critic Gary Giddins opined, "That is the essence of Tatum. If you don't like his ornament, you should be listening to someone else. That's where his genius is." ^[25]

From the foundation of stride, Tatum made great leaps forward in technique and harmony and he honed a groundbreaking improvisational style that extended the limits of what was possible in jazz piano. His innovations were to greatly influence later jazz pianists, such as Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson, Billy Taylor, Bill Evans, Tete Montoliu and Chick Corea. One of Tatum's innovations was his extensive use of the pentatonic scale, which may have inspired later pianists to further mine its possibilities as a device for soloing. Herbie Hancock described Tatum's unique tone as "majestic" and devoted some time to unlocking this sound and to noting Tatum's harmonic arsenal.^[26]

The sounds that Tatum produced with the piano were also distinctive. It was said that he could make a bad piano sound good. Generally playing at mezzoforte volume, he employed the entire keyboard from deep bass tones to sonorous mid-register chords to sparkling upper register runs. He used the sustain pedal sparingly so that each note was clearly articulated and chords were cleanly sounded. He played with boundless energy and occasionally his speedy and precise delivery produced an almost mechanical effect not unlike the sound of a player piano.

Critic Gunther Schuller declared, "On one point there is universal agreement: Tatum's awesome technique."^[27] That technique was marked by a calm physical demeanor and efficiency. He did not indulge in theatrical physical or facial expression. The effortless gliding of his hands over difficult passages puzzled most who witnessed the phenomenon. He especially mystified other pianists to whom Tatum appeared to be "playing the impossible."^[28] Even when playing scintillating runs at high velocity, it appeared that his fingers hardly moved. Hank Jones said, "When I finally met him and got a chance to hear him play in person, it seemed as if he wasn’t really exerting much effort, he had an effortless way of playing. It was deceptive. You’d watch him and you couldn’t believe what was coming out, what was reaching your ears. He didn’t have that much motion at the piano. He didn’t make a big show of moving around and waving 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 couldn’t tell by just looking at him play."^[29] Using self-taught fingering, including an array of two-fingered runs, he executed the pyrotechnics with meticulous accuracy and timing. His execution was all the more remarkable considering that he drank prodigious amounts of alcohol when performing,^[30] yet his recordings are never sloppy. Tatum also displayed phenomenal independence of the hands and ambidexterity, which was particularly evident while improvising counterpoint. Jazz historian and commentator Ira Gitler declared that Tatum's "left hand was the equal of his right." ^[31] Around 1950 when Bud Powell was opening for Tatum at Birdland, Powell reportedly said to Tatum, "Man, I'm going to really show you about tempo and playing fast. Anytime you're ready." Tatum laughed and replied, "Look, you come in here tomorrow, and anything you do with your right hand, I'll do with my left." Powell never took up the challenge.^[32]

Tatum played chords with a relatively flat-fingered technique compared to the curvature taught in classical training. Composer/pianist Mary Lou Williams told Whitney Balliett, "Tatum taught me how to hit my notes, how to control them without using pedals. And he showed me how to keep my fingers flat on the keys to get that clean tone." ^[33] Jimmy Rowles said, "Most of the stuff he played was clear over my head. There was too much going on — both hands were impossible to believe. You couldn't pick out what he was doing because his fingers were so smooth and soft, and the way he did it — it was like camouflage."^[34] When his fastest tracks of "Tiger Rag" are slowed down, they still reveal a coherent, syncopated rhythm.

After regular club dates, Tatum would decamp to after-hours clubs to hang out with other musicians who would play for each other. Biographer James Lester notes that Tatum enjoyed listening to other pianists and preferred to play last when several pianists played. He frequently played for hours on end into the dawn, to the detriment of his marriages.^[30] Tatum was said to be more spontaneous and creative in those free-form nocturnal sessions than in his scheduled performances.^[30] Evidence of this can be found in the set entitled 20th Century Piano Genius which consists of 40 tunes recorded at private parties at the home of Hollywood music director Ray Heindorf in 1950 and 1955. According to the review by Marc Greilsamer, "All of the trademark Tatum elements are here: the grand melodic flourishes, the harmonic magic tricks, the flirtations with various tempos and musical styles. But what also emerges is Tatum's effervescence, his joy, and his humor. He seems to celebrate and mock these timeless melodies all at once."^[35]

Tatum tended to work and to record unaccompanied, partly because relatively few musicians could keep pace with his fast tempos and advanced harmonic vocabulary. Other musicians expressed amazed bewilderment at performing with Tatum. Drummer Jo Jones, who recorded a 1956 trio session with Tatum and bassist Red Callender is quoted as quipping, "I didn't even play on that session [...] all I did was listen. I mean, what could I add? [...] I felt like setting my damn drums on fire."^[36] Clarinetist Buddy DeFranco said that playing with Tatum was "like chasing a train."^[31] Tatum said of himself, "A band hampers me."^[37]

Tatum did not readily adapt or defer to other musicians in ensemble settings. Early in his career he was required to restrain himself when he worked as accompanist for vocalist Adelaide Hall in 1932-33. Perhaps because Tatum believed there was a limited audience for solo piano, he formed a trio in 1943 with guitarist Tiny Grimes and bassist Slam Stewart, whose perfect pitch enabled him to follow Tatum's excursions. He later recorded with other musicians, including a notable session with the 1944 Esquire Jazz All-Stars, which included Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and other jazz greats, at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. He also recorded memorable group sessions for Norman Granz in the mid-1950s.

Tatum's repertoire consisted mainly of music from the Great American Songbook — Tin Pan Alley, Broadway and other popular music of the 20s, 30s and 40s. He played his own arrangements of a few classical piano pieces as well, most famously Dvorák's Humoresque no. 7 and Massenet's "Elegie". These interpretations are unsurpassed in conception and inventiveness by anything that has been recorded since ^{[kailangan ng sanggunian]}. Although Tatum was not known as a composer,^[38] his versions of popular numbers were so original as to border on composition.

Mainstream jazz piano has gone in a different direction than that pioneered by Tatum. Nevertheless, transcriptions of Tatum are popular and are often practiced assiduously.^[39] But perhaps because his playing was so difficult to copy, only a handful of musicians — such as Oscar Peterson, Johnny Costa, Johnny Guarnieri, Adam Makowicz, Luther G. Williams, Steven Mayer and Christopher Jordan, and, outside of the usual roster of jazz pianists, Andre Previn — have attempted to seriously emulate or challenge Tatum. Although Bud Powell was of the bebop movement, his prolific and exciting style showed Tatum influence.^{[kailangan ng sanggunian]}

Tatum recorded commercially from 1932 until near his death. Although recording opportunities were somewhat intermittent for most of his career due to his solo style, he left copious recordings.^[40] He recorded for Decca (1934–41), Capitol (1949, 1952) and for the labels associated with Norman Granz (1953–56). Tatum demonstrated remarkable memory when he recorded 68 solo tracks for Norman Granz in two days, all but three of the tracks in one take. He also recorded a series of group recordings for Granz with, among others, Ben Webster, Jo Jones, Buddy DeFranco, Benny Carter, Harry Sweets Edison, Roy Eldridge and Lionel Hampton.

Although only a small amount of film showing Tatum playing exists today, several minutes of professionally-shot archival footage can be found in Martin Scorsese's documentary The Blues. Footage also appears in Ken Burns' documentary Jazz, which includes a short passage on Tatum's life and work, including comments from Jimmy Rowles and Gary Giddins. Tatum appeared in the 1947 movie The Fabulous Dorseys, first playing a solo and then accompanying Dorsey's band in an impromptu song.

Tatum appeared on Steve Allen's Tonight Show in the early 1950s, and on other television shows from this era. Unfortunately, all of the kinescopes of the Allen shows, which were stored in a warehouse along with other now defunct shows, were thrown into a local rubbish dump to make room for new studios. However, the soundtracks were recorded off-air by Tatum enthusiasts at the time, and many are included in Storyville Records extensive series of rare Tatum recordings.

On the recommendation of Oscar Peterson, Tatum is portrayed by Johnny O'Neal in Ray, a 2004 biopic about R&B artist Ray Charles. When Charles enters a nightclub he remarks, "Are my ears deceiving me or is that Art Tatum?" O'Neals own playing on Yesterday's captures Tatum's genius and spirit at the keyboard.

Tatum posthumously received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989.

Numerous stories exist about other musicians' respect for Tatum. Perhaps the most famous is the story about the time Tatum walked into a club where Fats Waller was playing, and Waller stepped away from the piano bench to make way for Tatum, announcing, "I only play the piano, but tonight God is in the house."^[41] Fats Waller's son confirmed the statement.^[42]

Charlie Parker (who helped develop bebop) was highly influenced by Tatum. When newly arrived in New York, Parker briefly worked as a dishwasher in a Manhattan restaurant where Tatum was performing and often listened to the legendary pianist. Parker once said, “I wish I could play like Tatum’s right hand!”^[43]

When Oscar Peterson was still a young boy, his father played him a recording of Art Tatum performing "Tiger Rag". Once the young Peterson was finally persuaded that it was performed by a single person, Peterson was so intimidated that he did not touch the piano for weeks.^[44] Interviewing Oscar Peterson in 1962, Les Tompkins asked, "Is there one musician you regard as the greatest?" Peterson replied, "I’m an Art Tatum–ite. If you speak of pianists, the most complete pianist that we have known and possibly will know, from what I’ve heard to date, is Art Tatum."^[45] "Musically speaking, he was and is my musical God, and I feel honored to remain one of his humbly devoted disciples."^[46]

"Here's something new .... " pianist Hank Jones remembers thinking when he first heard Art Tatum on radio in 1935, " .... they have devised this trick to make people believe that one man is playing the piano, when I know at least three people are playing."^[47]

The jazz pianist and educator Kenny Barron commented, "I have every record [Tatum] ever made — and I try never to listen to them … If I did, I'd throw up my hands and give up!"^[48] Jean Cocteau dubbed Tatum "a crazed Chopin." Count Basie called him the eighth wonder of the world. Dave Brubeck observed, "I don't think there's any more chance of another Tatum turning up than another Mozart."^[49] Pianist Mulgrew Miller, a noted fan of Tatum, commented on personal growth by saying, "When I talk to the people I admire, they're always talking about continuous growth and development and I look at them and say, 'Well...what are YOU going to do?' But, as Harold Mabern says, 'There's always Art Tatum records around'".^[50] Dizzy Gillespie said, "First you speak of Art Tatum, then take a long deep breath, and you speak of the other pianists."^[51]

The elegant pianist Teddy Wilson observed, "Maybe this will explain Art Tatum. If you put a piano in a room, just a bare piano. Then you get all the finest jazz pianists in the world and let them play in the presence of Art Tatum. Then let Art Tatum play ... everyone there will sound like an amateur."^[51]

Other luminaries of the day including Vladimir Horowitz, Arthur Rubinstein, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Leonard Bernstein, Leopold Godowsky and George Gershwin marveled at Tatum's genius.^[30]

Jazz critic Leonard Feather has called Tatum "the greatest soloist in jazz history, regardless of instrument."^[51]

In 1993, J. A. Bilmes, a MIT student invented a term that is now in common usage in the field of computational musicology: The Tatum. It means "the smallest perceptual time unit in music" and is a tribute to Tatum's pianistic velocity.^[52]

Ang Zenph Studios, isang kompanyang software focused on precisely understanding how musicians perform, recorded a new album of Tatum’s playing with Sony Masterworks in 2007. Using computer equipment coupled with an electronic incarnation of the player piano, they created re-performances of Tatum’s first four commercial tracks, from March 21, 1933, and the nine tracks from the April 2, 1949 live concert at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium. Sony recorded these anew in the same venue, in front of a live audience. These 13 tracks are on the album, Piano Starts Here: Live from The Shrine, which was recorded in high-resolution surround-sound and in binaural, as well as regular stereo. The binaural recording, when heard in headphones, let you hear what Tatum may have heard as he played on stage, with the piano spatially in front (bass on the left, treble on the right) and the live audience clearly downstage on the righthand side.^[53] Zenph’s re-performances have been performed live in numerous venues, including the Toronto Jazz Festival ^[54] and New York’s Apollo Theater. Jazz pianist Oscar Peterson requested a live presentation, which he heard in an emotional re-performance in his home in March 2007.

Tatum's work was used and referenced heavily in the WB TV series Everwood (2002–2006), with some actual sound recordings used and compositions being performed in concerts by Ephram Brown (portrayed by Gregory Smith) in select episodes. James Earl Jones' character Will Cleveland introduced these works to young Ephram, who was an aspiring pianist, in the second season episode "Three Miners From Everwood".

For his 2008 album Act Your Age, Gordon Goodwin wrote a new big band arrangement to accompany Zenph’s re-performance of “Yesterdays,” and the track was recognized with a Grammy Nomination for Best Instrumental Arrangement.^[55]

In 2009 in Toledo at the new Lucas County Arena a memorial was placed to Art Tatum.^[56]

Non pianist musicians influenced by Tatum's improvisational virtuosity include Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead who was quoted in the June 1985 edition of Frets Magazine as saying: "Art Tatum is my all-time favorite. Yeah, he’s my all-time favorite. He’s the guy I put on when I want to feel really small [laughs]. When I want to feel really insignificant [laughs]. He’s a good guy to play for any musician, you know. He’ll make them want to go home and burn their instruments. [Laughs.] Art Tatum is absolutely the most incredible musician – what can you say?"

Pianist Yuja Wang, herself an admirer of Tatum's improvisational freedom, has recorded his 1933 arrangement of Tea for Two in her album, Fantasia.^[57][58] This was included in the iTunes release of the album.^[59] She is also known to have played it as an encore during a concert in Avery Fisher Hall.^[60]

• Art Tatum Piano Impressesions, ARA A-1, date unknown c.1940s
• Art Tatum Piano Solos, Asch 356, c.1945
• Footnotes to Jazz, Vol. 2: Jazz Rehearsal, II- Art Tatum Trio, Folkways Records, 1952
• Makin' Whoopee, Verve, 1954
• The Greatest Piano Hits of Them All, Verve, 1954
• Genius Of Keyboard 1954–56, Giants Of Jazz
• Still More of the Greatest Piano Hits of Them All, Verve, 1955
• More of the Greatest Piano Hits of All Time, Verve, 1955
• The Art Tatum-Ben Webster Quartet, Verve, 1956, reissued as The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Volume Eight, Pablo, 1975
• The Essential Art Tatum, Verve, 1956
• Capitol Jazz Classics - Volume 3 Solo Piano, Capitol M-11028, 1972
• Masterpieces, Leonard Feather Series MCA2-4019, MCA, 1973
• God is in the House, Onyx, 1973 [re-released on High Note, 1998]

• Piano Starts Here, Columbia, 1987
• The Complete Capitol Recordings, Vol. 1, Capitol, 1989
• The Complete Capitol Recordings, Vol. 2, Capitol, 1989
• Solos 1940, Decca/MCA, 1989

• The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 6, Pablo, 1990
• The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 7, Pablo, 1990
• The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 4, Pablo, 1990
• The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 2, Pablo, 1990
• The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 3, Pablo, 1990
• The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 1, Pablo, 1990
• Art Tatum at His Piano, Vol. 1, Crescendo, 1990
• The Complete Pablo Group Masterpieces, Pablo, 1990
• Classic Early Solos (1934–37), Decca Records, 1991
• The Complete Pablo Solo Masterpieces, Pablo, 1991
• The Best of Art Tatum, Pablo, 1992
• Standards, Black Lion, 1992
• The V-Discs, Black Lion, 1992
• The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Vol. 1, Pablo, 1992
• The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Vol. 2, Pablo, 1992
• The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Vol. 3, Pablo, 1992
• The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Vol. 4, Pablo, 1992
• The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Vol. 5, Pablo, 1992
• The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Vol. 6, Pablo, 1992
• The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Vol. 7, Pablo, 1992
• The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Vol. 8, Pablo, 1992
• I Got Rhythm: Art Tatum, Vol. 3 (1935–44), Decca Records, 1993
• Fine Art & Dandy, Drive Archive, 1994
• The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Vol. 2, Pablo, 1994
• Marvelous Art, Star Line Records, 1994
• House Party, Star Line Records, 1994
• Masters of Jazz, Vol. 8, Storyville (Denmark), 1994
• California Melodies, Memphis Archives, 1994
• 1934–40, Jazz Chronological Classics, 1994
• 1932–44 (3 CD Box Set), Jazz Chronological Classics, 1995
• The Rococo Piano of Art Tatum, Pearl Flapper, 1995
• I Know That You Know, Jazz Club Records, 1995
• Piano Solo Private Sessions October 1952, New York, Musidisc (France), 1995
• The Art of Tatum, ASV Living Era, 1995
• Trio Days, Le Jazz, 1995
• 1933–44, Best of Jazz (France), 1995
• 1940–44, Jazz Chronological Classics, 1995
• Vol. 16-Masterpieces, Jazz Archives Masterpieces, 1996
• 20th Century Piano Genius (20th Century/Verve), 1996
• Body & Soul,Jazz Hour (Netherlands), 1996
• Solos (1937) and Classic Piano, Forlane, 1996
• Complete Capitol Recordings, Blue Note, 1997
• Memories Of You (3 CD Set) Black Lion, 1997
• On The Sunny Side Topaz Jazz, 1997
• 1944, Giants Of Jazz, 1998
• Standard Sessions (2 CD Set), Music & Arts, 1996 & 2002/Storyville 1999
• Piano Starts Here - Live at The Shrine (Zenph Re-Performance), Sony BMG Masterworks, 2008
• Art Tatum - Ben Webster: The Album (Essential Jazz Classics) 2009

Actress Tatum O'Neal states in her book A paper life that she was named for him.

Tatum recorded commercially from 1932 until near his death. Although recording opportunities were somewhat intermittent for most of his career due to his solo style, he left copious recordings.[37] He recorded for Decca (1934–41)

• Jed Distler (1981/1986) Art Tatum: Jazz Masters Series: intro and notes to Tatum Piano Transcriptions: Amsco Publications: ISBN 0-8256-4085-7
• James Lester (1994) Too Marvelous for Words: The Life and Genius of Art Tatum, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-509640-1
• Gunther Schuller (1989) The Swing Era - The Development of Jazz 1930-1945, "Art Tatum" p 476-502, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-507140-5
• Riccardo Scivales (1998) The Right Hand According to Tatum, Ekay Music, Inc. ISBN 0-943748-85-2

• Art Tatum African American Resource Center Naka-arkibo 2009-02-17 sa Wayback Machine.
• JAZZ (Ken Burns) Artist Biography: Art Tatum
• NPR Jazz Profiles: Art Tatum
• NPR Music Artist Profile: Art Tatum