The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Volume 1

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The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Volume 1 album cover
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EDITOR'S PICK

Total Tracks: 16   Total Length: 64:32

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Larry Blumenfeld

eMusic Contributor

10.14.09
The mighty link from barroom piano to tux-and-tie auditorium
2006 | Label: Fantasy Records

Any one edition drawn from this eight-CD set will do. And any one is enough to give a sense of the enormity of Tatum's genius and its far-reaching effects on all the music that followed. Tatum simply played more piano — got more out the instrument — than any other musician. He was a direct link from the whorehouse piano men to the classical soloist. Here, late in life, he plays song after song and, beginning with "Too Marvelous for Words," he builds each one into a concerto of melody, harmonics, and improvisation that set the bar high and establish the logic for much of modern jazz.

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badass

DigitalHobo

badass. What moar is there to say?? Alls I can say is I am glad I don't play piano.

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Great Piano playing

reelon

This is Art Tatum, what more can you say, download and enjoy.

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genius

peterserious

Want to meet the heiress to Art Tatum? An Ethiopian woman named Tsegue-maryam Guebrou. The album is Ethiopiques, Vol. 21 and is on eMusic.

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1 plus 1 equals duh

permafrost154

Sounds like misinformed whining to me. The full download set me back $4. What plan are you on, dude? Do the math. Then Download All!

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Save your money

isatinov

Get new, full cd at Amazon.com for under $12.00. Used from under $7.00. EMusic ought to offer full album download discounts to make themselves competitive.

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The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces Vol 1

misternau

Art Tatum is arguably the greatest piano player of all time, in any genre. This first of a series of recordings shows off his astonishing virtuosity and a style that has been emulated for 50 years. A beautiful collection of jazz standards, the set is timeless, important, and thoroughly enjoyable. (from 50words.net)

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What can you say?

The-Whole-Guitarist

What -can- you say about one of, if not the, central figure in jazz piano. A prodigious imagination and facility enabled Tatum to reel off versions of standards that reveal the pieces in ways the composers, and even other jazz pianists, could never have imagined.

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They Say All Music Guide

The first of eight CDs reissuing the 119 piano solo performances that Art Tatum recorded for Norman Granz during four marathon record sessions has its moments, although in general this series lacks the excitement of Tatum’s earliest recordings. The pianist interprets such standards an this first volume as “Body and Soul,” “It’s Only a Paper Moon” and “Willow Weep for Me.” – Scott Yanow