Art Tatum – The Art Tatum Collection 1932-47 – 4CD

Of all the pianists in the annals of jazz, Art Tatum is the one who is most often cited by the great pianists of the post-war era as a key influence and inspiration, his remarkable speed, dexterity, fluency and sheer relaxed mastery of the keyboard in his prolific interpretations of the standards from the Great American Songbook setting him apart from just about all of his peers. Developing his skill despite his blindness, he astounded observers, who marvelled at his technique, often saying that he sounded like two people playing. This great-value 93-track 4-CD set comprises a significant proportion of his recordings from his studio debut in 1932 through to 1947 – at that point he began recording for Capitol, and after that had a second substantial career phase recording for Norman Granz’s labels during the ‘50s. It primarily features solo recordings on the Brunswick, Decca, Asch and ARA labels as well as V-Disc recordings, plus trio and small band recordings for those labels as well as Comet, and recordings with the Barney Bigard Sextet for Black & White and other bonus offerings. It does not purport to be a complete or definitive cross-section of this first significant era of his career, but it’s certainly a substantial and representative showcase for one of the great piano stylists of the genre.

Track Listing:

CD1:
Adelaide Hall: 1. Strange As It Seems -   Art Tatum: 2. Tiger Rag (5 Aug. 1932) -   3. Tea For Two (21 Mar. 1933) -   4. St. Louis Blues (21 Mar. 1933) -   5. Sophisticated Lady -   6. Moonglow -   7. When A Woman Loves A Man -   8. Emaline (22 Aug. 1934) -   9. Love Me (22 Aug. 1934) -   10. Cocktails For Two (22 Aug. 1934) -   11. Ill Wind -   12. The Shout -   13. Liza -   14. I Would Do Anything For You -   15. After You've Gone (9 Oct. 1934) -   16. Star Dust -   17. I Ain't Got Nobody -   18. Beautiful Love -   Art Tatum And His Swingsters: 19. Body And Soul (Feb 26 1937) -   20. With Plenty Of Money And You -   21. What Will I Tell My Heart? -   22. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm -   Art Tatum: 23. Gone With The Wind -   24. Stormy Weather -   25. The Sheik Of Araby - 

CD2:
Art Tatum: 1. Chloe [Song Of The Swamp] -   2. Tea For Two (12 Apr. 1939) -   3. Deep Purple -   4. Elegie -   5. Humoresque -   6. Sweet Lorraine -   7. Get Happy -   8. Lullaby Of The Leaves -   9. Tiger Rag (22 Feb. 1940) -   10. Emaline (22 Feb. 1940) -   11. Love Me (22 Feb. 1940) -   12. Cocktails For Two (22 Feb. 1940) -   13. St. Louis Blues (22 Feb. 1940) -   14. Begin The Beguine -   15. Rosetta -   16. (Back Home Again In) Indiana (26 Jul. 1940) -   Art Tatum And His Band: 17. Wee Baby Blues -   18. Stompin' At The Savoy -   19. Last Goodbye Blues -   20. Battery Bounce -   21. Lucille -   22. Rock Me Mama -   23. Corrine Corrina -   24. Lonesome Graveyard Blues -

CD3:
The Art Tatum Trio: 1. Lady Be Good -   Leonard Feather's All Stars: 2. Esquire Bounce -   3. My Ideal -   The Art Tatum Trio: 4. I Got Rhythm -   5. Honeysuckle Rose -   6. After You've Gone (5 Jan 1944) -   7. The Man I Love -   8. Dark Eyes [Otchitchornyia] -   9. Body And Soul (1 May 1944) -   10. I Know That You Know -   11. On The Sunny Side Of The Street -   12. Flying Home -   13. Boogie -   14. Topsy -   15. If I Had You -   16. Soft Winds -   Art Tatum: 17. Fine And Dandy -   18. It Had To Be You -   19. Ja-Da -   20. Where Or When (21 Dec. 1944) -   21. Sweet And Lovely -

CD4:
Art Tatum: 1. Danny Boy -   Barney Bigard Sextet: 2. Can't Help Lovin' That Man -   3. Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone -   4. Sweet Marijuana Brown -   5. Blues For Art’s Sake -   Art Tatum: 6. Hallelujah -   7. Poor Butterfly -   8. Song Of The Vagabonds -   9. Lover -   10. Memories Of You -   11. Runnin' Wild -   12. Yesterdays -   13. The Kerry Dance -   14. She's Funny That Way -   15. Gershwin Medley: Summertime, The Man I Love, I Got Plenty O' Nut -   16. I'm Beginning To See The Light -   17. 9:20 Special -   18. Where Or When (21 Jan. 1946) -   19. (Back Home Again In) Indiana (21 Jan. 1946) -   20. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes -   21. Ain't Misbehavin' -   22. Out Of Nowhere -   23. Cherokee -