Just when we might have thought that there were no more unreleased live recordings (apart from bootlegs) by the Art Tatum trio, Zev Feldman and George Klabin, co-presidents of Resonance Records, have discovered and refurbished a 39-track set of the trio’s appearance at Chicago’s Blue Note Jazz Club in August 1953.
With the approval of the Tatum estate, it has been painstakingly reproduced (on CD and LP) with a 47-page booklet which includes rare photographs, an extended essay by Brent Hayes Edwards, a professor and jazz scholar at Columbia University, and the edited transcripts of conversations by Feldman with such declared Art devotees as Ahmad Jamal, Monty Alexander, Terry Gibbs, Spike Wilner, Johnny O’Neal, Sonny Rollins, ELEW (Oscar Lewis) and others. It was Rollins who commented: ”The fact that I’ve even tried to play as a trio has a lot to do with him. Everything he plays makes me want to see if I can copy it on the saxophone.”
Given the acoustical and other circumstances at the Blue Note, the “restored” sound throughout is surprisingly good – so “good” that Art, responding to audience requests for some solo performances (he gave four), reprimanded chattering non-listeners: “Could I get your attention for a couple of minutes? If you’d just be a little quiet, I’d really appreciate it, because I’m going to play piano by myself and I’m not going to play loud. Thank you.” (I can’t recall ever having heard Tatum’s voice before).
Although he does “play loud”, fast and furious on many songs, Tatum’s accompanists (as on many of his studio and other live sessions) are almost superfluous. He was and remained essentially a solo pianist. Everett Barksdale was a capable player and given the chance by Art, delivers some imaginative solos. Slam Stewart maintains a steady beat throughout, but his extended contributions are monotonous and hard on the ears – and give the unfortunate impression of someone sawing through an obstinate block of wood.
These performances of popular American songs reveal Tatum’s astounding talents – including his embellishment and reconstruction of well-known tunes. Responding to his detractors, Gary Giddins has commented that Tatum’s “magnificent arpeggios, runs and flurries, supersonic turn backs and contrary figures and thumb driven bass walks are not ornamental: they are the nerve centre of his art, the jewels in his treasure box (my italics) – an embarrassment of rewards.” The New Yorker critic Whitney Balliett made a related point: “Tatum was a restless, compulsive player who abhorred silence. [He] had two main modes – the flashy, kaleidoscopic style he used on the job, and the straight-ahead jazz style, which emerges in fragments from his few after-hours recordings.” Balliett pointedly adds that Art “did not have an easy time playing with other instruments; he tended to compete with them, then overrun them”.
Among the many jewels in this particular box are blistering performances of Night And Day, On The Sunny Side Of The Street, Tenderly and Stompin’ At The Savoy. The four solo tracks are moving renditions of Someone To Watch Over Me, Elegy, Humoresque and Begin The Beguine. Whatever the circumstances and the company he kept, Art Tatum was in 1953 (and still is in 2024) worthy of Duke Ellington’s assessment of Ella Fitzgerald as being “beyond category”. Too rich to be digested in one sitting, this confection is a highly recommended dish.
Discography
CD1: Night And Day; Where Or When; On The Sunny Side Of The Street; Don’t Blame Me; Soft Winds These Foolish Things; Flying Home; Memories Of You; What Does It Take; Tenderly; Crazy Rhythm; The Man I Love; Tea For Two (53.41)
CD2: I Cover The Waterfront; Body And Soul; Laura; Humoresque; Begin The Beguine; There Will Never Be Another You / September Song; Just One Of Those Things; Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams; St. Louis Blues; After You’ve Gone; Someone To Watch Over Me; Elegy (59.21)
CD3: Sweet Lorraine; Indiana; Tabu; Judy; Lover; Dark Eyes; Stompin’ At The Savoy; If; Out Of Nowhere; Would You Like To Take A Walk? Stardust; Air Mail Special; I’ve Got The World On A String; The Kerry Dance (60.31)
Tatum (p) Everett Barksdale (g); Slam Stewart (b). Blue Note Jazz Club, Chicago, 16-28 August 1953.
Resonance Records HCD-2064
