Art Tatum

In this rare footage from the mid 1940’s piano genius Art Tatum plays his rendition of Dvorak’s “Humoresque.”

*Humoresques is a piano cycle by the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak, written during the Summer of 1894.

*Arthur “Art” Tatum born October 13, 1909 and died November 5, 1956 was an American Jazz pianist and virtuoso who played with phenomenal facility despite being nearly blind since birth.

*”Tatum is acknowledged among the greatest Jazz piano men of all time who would be a major influence on later generations. He was noted for the complexity and speed of his performances, which set a new standard for virtuosity on his instrument. Critic Scott Yanow wrote, “Tatum’s quick reflexes and boundless imagination kept his improvisations filled with fresh (and sometimes futuristic) ideas that put him way ahead of his contemporaries … Art Tatum’s recordings still have the ability to scare modern pianists.”

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