Mark Lehmstedt, a German publisher, editor and historian, is a devout admirer (and stout defender) of Art Tatum and he has now produced a revised and extended biography of his hero. The first edition of this book was published in German in 2009.
One wonders if this inflated version in English suffered in translation. Weighing in at 2 lb (in an unwieldy paperback) with 584 pages, 36 of which are devoted to a discography, 10 to a bibliography, 17 to An Index Of Songs And Venues and a microscopically reduced listing of photo credits, it is extremely unwieldy and makes for an exhausting read. There is more to come, namely 30 (yes!) chapters with such baffling titles as ”The Hepcats Sit and Stare, Mouths Agape” and “Bonjour To All Cynics Made Human By Art Tatum”.
The book covers (at inordinate length) the years 1909-1956, a daunting undertaking by the author, but also for the unfortunate reader forced to contend with long digressions, superfluous verbiage and far too many exclamation marks. What amount to mini essays on Jelly Roll Morton, Teddy Wilson and Earl Hines are superfluous.
Lehmstedt admits that little is known about Tatum’s private life (but a lot about his tastes for Pabst Blue Label and whisky), that he was twice married, and had a son, Orlando. He contends that Tatum “was a soloist, even when he played with others” and “boringly Tatum limited himself to playing the piano… and stuck to it!” Readers are expressly encouraged to “listen to Tatum’s recordings while reading this book” – a fanciful suggestion as great concentration is required to wade through the prolixity of the text. For example, Tatum’s US tours during the year 1932 are listed in eye-glazing detail.
More pertinently, Leonard Feather and Norman Granz are correctly cited as Tatum promoters, while Ray Charles, Horace Silver, Billy Taylor, Lennie Tristano, Thelonious Monk, George Shearing and (most notably) Oscar Peterson are identified as the keepers of his flame. Miles Davis is quoted as saying “Tatum is the only man who plays with a whole lot of technique and the feeling too. Along with Bud Powell, he’s my favourite pianist.”
But Tatum’s critics – particularly André Hodeir – receive short shrift. Lehmstedt dismisses Hodeir’s assertion that “In Tatum’s playing, the harmonic embellishments, the rhythmic patterns and the fluent runs form a mosaic which is purely decorative.” He (convincingly) maintains that Tatum’s 120 solo and 80 group recordings for Norman Granz rank among his finest. Unfortunately, such comments are few and far between in this portentous (and possibly privately published) biography.
Far better to obtain James Lester’s shorter and succinct Too Marvellous For Words: The Life & Genius Of Art Tatum (1994). Reviewing it in JJ, Pat Hawes considered it “a scholarly, but very readable work”. In comparison, God Is In The House is far too “scholarly” and annoyingly discursive.
***
Mark Lehmstedt, God Is In The House: Art Tatum: A Biography. Wolke, 2024, pp 584, pb. ISBN 978-3-95593-260-2
