Art Tatum - The Tatum Group Masterpieces - UHQCD - COMPACT DISCS

The great pianist Art Tatum was pretty much a solo act his entire career-his rich, ornate style rarely meshing with another soloist's contributions. Which makes the 1956 recordings he did with tenor saxophonist Ben Webster at the end of his life (Tatum died a mere month after these sessions) all the more precious. On the face of it, Tatum's fulsome, baroque approach and Webster's blues-inflected, slurry lyricism would seem to be especially incompatible. The audible results definitely refute any such notion however. Like two master vaudevillians, the two swing veterans perform their musical turns expertly in tandem, with Webster's breathy, conversational lines leaving plenty of room for Tatum's filigrees and signature arpeggios. And there is absolutely no hint that the pianist was nearing his end. His piano tone is rich, his attack on point, and his inexhaustible harmonic invention raises this far above a typical jazz all-star session. The Essential Jazz Classics reissue adds five Tatum solo pieces to the original seven songs recorded with Webster.

Double vinyl LP pressing. Shortly after delivering their breakthrough album Nonagon Infinity, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard hit San Francisco's The Independent for a wildly frenetic and meticulously executed set. One of their final club gigs, the Melbourne septet gave a breakneck performance that Inchmade every organ ache just rightInch (SF Weekly). Live in San Francisco '16 (ATO Records) captures an extraordinary moment in the band's history, a 13-song spectacular likely to leave every listener awestruck and adrenalized.

Limited Edition 2 CD Set / 32 Performances - Post 1945. InchArt Tatum was the greatest soloist in Jazz History, regardless of the instrument.Inch - Leonard Feather. InchFirst you speak of Art Tatum, then take a long deep breath, and you speak of the other pianists.Inch - Dizzy Gillespie. InchIf you put a piano in a room, just a bare piano. Then you get all the finest jazz pianists in the world and let them play in the presence of Art Tatum. Then let Art Tatum play... everyone there will sound like an amateur.Inch -Teddy Wilson. Art Tatum was among the most extraordinary of all jazz musicians, a pianist with wondrous technique who could not only play ridiculously rapid lines with both hands (his 1933 solo version of InchTiger RagInch sounds as if there were three pianists jamming together) but was harmonically 30 years ahead of his time; all pianists have to deal to a certain extent with Tatum's innovations in order to be taken seriously. Able to play stride, swing, and boogie-woogie with speed and complexity that could only previously be imagined, 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. This collection of post 1945 performances is culled from unreleased studio sessions, Radio & Television appearance and private home recordings.