Weldon Hill

Remembering the great Art Tatum who was born on this day in 1909. Considered one of the greatest technical virtuosos in jazz, Tatum extended the vocabulary and boundaries of jazz piano. In his improvisations Tatum was given to spontaneously inserting entirely new chord progressions into the small space of one or two measures. His reharmonization of pop tunes became a standard practice among modern jazz musicians, horn players as well as pianists. In rhythmically unpredictable spurts, he often generated lines with notes cascading across each other while weaving in and out of tempo. Few jazz pianists after Tatum failed to incorporate at least one favourite Tatum run or embellishment in their playing. Several jazz pianists—including Bud Powell, Lennie Tristano, and Oscar Peterson—as well as other jazz musicians credited and clearly exhibited Tatum’s influence. Here, he is performing “Yesterdays” live on television in 1954.