Art Tatum (1909-1956) is recognized as one of the best \u2013 if not the best \u2013 jazz pianists of the first half of the twentieth century. His influence inspired the generation of jazz pianists who followed him; Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Chick Corea and many others built upon the legacy he left behind.<\/p>\n
Tatum played within tight structures and rarely ventured into the wild improvisations that dominated jazz in the second half of the twentieth century. He was also more melodic than many of the artists who followed him. <\/p>\n
His genius was in his accuracy and timing. At times, his playing could be frenetic, yet each note is distinguishable from the next. His sound is instantly recognizable by its clarity. He was also a genius at changing chord progressions within the melody of a song. His virtuosity was such that when listening to his recordings, this one included, you will swear there is more than one piano being played.<\/p>\n
Art Tatum was primarily a solo artist; the majority of his performances and recorded work featured only his piano. Every once in awhile, however, he would assemble a trio or quartet, which brings us to Ben Webster.<\/p>\n
Webster was a tenor sax player and contemporary of Tatum. He began his career as a member of The Duke Ellington Orchestra in the mid-\u201830s and would go on to a stellar career both as a solo artist and as a member of a number of groups until his death in 1972. He was known as a swing artist who fit Tatum\u2019s style perfectly.<\/p>\n
Legendary producer and label owner Norman Granz managed to lure Tatum and Webster into the studio together. They were backed by Red Callender on bass and Bill Douglass on drums. The eight tracks that comprised The Album <\/i>were all recorded September 11th, 1956. It would also be Tatum\u2019s last recording session as he passed away shortly after its completion.<\/p>\n
The first track, \u201cAll The Things You Are,\u201d sets the tone for what will follow. Tatum begins with a solo as he explores the song\u2019s structure and theme. Webster then joins in the exploration with his smoky sax sound. While Tatum tends to dominate, Webster\u2019s sax meanders in, out and around Tatum\u2019s piano to create a dual sound that constantly splits and reunites. <\/p>\n
\u201cGone With The Wind\u201d finds Tatum literally bending the melody with one hand while playing a number of runs with the other. It is an excellent example of his layering technique and creating a two piano sound. Webster provides a nice counterpoint in support. <\/p>\n
Webster later said that he considered his performance on \u201cNight And Day\u201d one of the best of his career. He takes more of a dual lead as his pure tone just waifs over the melody established by Tatum.<\/p>\n
There are four bonus tracks which are very interesting. \u201cGone With The Wind,\u201d \u201cHave You Met Miss Jones,\u201d \u201cNight and Day,\u201d and \u201cWhere Or When\u201d are all repeated but here as solo performances by Tatum. They allow the listener to compare his solo and group styles.<\/p>\n
The Album <\/i>by Ben Webster and Art Tatum is considered on of the best jazz releases of all time. The two geniuses who created this wonderful work are now slipping from the public consciousness, but this reissue should restore the luster of their virtuosity and hopefully their popularity as it remains a testament to two of the most influential American jazz musicians of the twentieth century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":29937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[8413],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-41560","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-art-tatum-and-ben-webster","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=41560"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=41560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}