Art Tatum: Sophisticated Lady (Solo Masterpieces version)
Track
Sophisticated Lady
Artist
Art Tatum (piano)
CD
Solo Masterpieces, Vol. 1 (Pablo PACD-2405-432-2)
Recorded: Recorded between 1953 and 1955
Rating: 97/100 (learn more)
Art Tatum recorded this same piece at his first commercial session back in 1933, but this updated performance shows how much he had matured during the intervening two decades. No he doesn't play any faster than he did back in the Great Depression -- he was already at the Einsteinian limits of keyboard speed from his first appearance on the scene. But his rhythmic approach on the later version is much freer, and his harmonic inventions even more inspired. He starts with an out-of-tempo melody statement, but soon is pulling out all his patented tricks -- two-handed acrobatics, heavy stride, bluesy asides, dipsy-doodle runs, and those thick chords that sound like twelve or thirteen fingers are spread out on the keyboard. A very sophisticated lady.
Reviewer: Ted Gioia
If you liked this track, also check out
- Art Tatum: Have You Met Miss Jones
- Art Tatum: Sophisticated Lady (1933 version)
- Duke Ellington: Sophisticated Lady
Tags: ellington covers · solo piano · sophisticated lady
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