by Herbert H. Nichols
The New York Age
Saturday August 16, 1941 (p. 10)
Art Tatum is now appearing at downtown Cafe Society as a solo act. He is known mostly to the cafe crowds not having played any of the bigger theatres to date. However, his public following is constantly growing, via his Decca recordings.
In Oscar Levant's book, "A Smattering of Ignorance," the story is told of some in the exclusive parties Art Tatum has played for. Levant says that the great George Gershwin once listened enthralled while Tatum took twenty different choruses with endless variations on "Liza" and "I Got Rhythm," two of his (Gershwin's own) compositions.
Leopold Godowsky was also an interested listener to this musical feat. And then Levant goes on to relate how some of his guests began to tire of this music after listening to it for an hour and a half. Chopin, famous pianist and composer, was wont to improvise for great lengths of time. My guess is that anyone who could tire of Tatum's music after listening to it for an hour and a half would in all probability tire of Chopin's music after listening to it for a similar length of time.
The piano is a musical palette to Art Tatum and he is able to paint any musical thought that comes to mind. Listen to his recording of "Humoresque" and "Indiana." For sheer coloring and novelty they remain musical gems. For technique listen to "Tiger Rag" and "Elegie." If you want to hear him play in the blues style, lend an ear to "St. Louis Blues," this last number done in conjunction with Kansas City Joe Turner, shouting blues stylist. He tackles a Spanish rhythm on "Begin The Beguine." And then if you want to hear some solid jazz to top it all, listen to "Rosetta," "Tea for Two," "I've Got Your Love to Keep Me Warm" or dozens others.
Barry Ulanov, in an article in the Swing Magazine, Metronome, quoted Art Tatum as saying that among classical pianists one of his favorites was Vladimir Horowitz. Surely, he follows classical music closely. He will take a number like "Chloe" or "Deep Purple" and after adding his own embellishments and harmonies to it, the whole thing begins to sound more like a Chopin etude than the mere hack tune that it is.
Art Tatum has long been the man of mystery in jazz. Long before he became well known in the East, his name was legendary to musicians. He first came to New York in 1931, as accompanist to Adelaide Hall, returning to points west about 1934. Prior to this period he toured Chicago, Los Angeles and other mid-western and West Coast cities with his own band. He returned to the East Coast in 1935 as a solo act.
* I'm not sure about this word, since the source material is damaged at this point in the article.
It is very seldom that a musical giant flashes across the horizon to have his contemporaries and followers acclaim him the way the classic jazz pianist Art Tatum has done. And it is once in a lifetime that one may be privileged to listen to a pianist who has a phenomenal technique coupled with an inexhaustible fund of musical ideas such as he has. This is a combination that can't be beat.
Art Tatum is now appearing at downtown Cafe Society as a solo act. He is known mostly to the cafe crowds not having played any of the bigger theatres to date. However, his public following is constantly growing, via his Decca recordings.
In Oscar Levant's book, "A Smattering of Ignorance," the story is told of some in the exclusive parties Art Tatum has played for. Levant says that the great George Gershwin once listened enthralled while Tatum took twenty different choruses with endless variations on "Liza" and "I Got Rhythm," two of his (Gershwin's own) compositions.
Leopold Godowsky was also an interested listener to this musical feat. And then Levant goes on to relate how some of his guests began to tire of this music after listening to it for an hour and a half. Chopin, famous pianist and composer, was wont to improvise for great lengths of time. My guess is that anyone who could tire of Tatum's music after listening to it for an hour and a half would in all probability tire of Chopin's music after listening to it for a similar length of time.
The piano is a musical palette to Art Tatum and he is able to paint any musical thought that comes to mind. Listen to his recording of "Humoresque" and "Indiana." For sheer coloring and novelty they remain musical gems. For technique listen to "Tiger Rag" and "Elegie." If you want to hear him play in the blues style, lend an ear to "St. Louis Blues," this last number done in conjunction with Kansas City Joe Turner, shouting blues stylist. He tackles a Spanish rhythm on "Begin The Beguine." And then if you want to hear some solid jazz to top it all, listen to "Rosetta," "Tea for Two," "I've Got Your Love to Keep Me Warm" or dozens others.
Barry Ulanov, in an article in the Swing Magazine, Metronome, quoted Art Tatum as saying that among classical pianists one of his favorites was Vladimir Horowitz. Surely, he follows classical music closely. He will take a number like "Chloe" or "Deep Purple" and after adding his own embellishments and harmonies to it, the whole thing begins to sound more like a Chopin etude than the mere hack tune that it is.
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| Adelaide Hall. Photo credit: Black Past |
In 1938 Tatum traveled to London where he played at Ciro's and other spots, also broadcasting over the British networks. Soon after he returned to the States to appear at the Famous Door, 52nd street night club. He has now been a featured attraction at Downtown Cafe Society since October, 1940.
Tatum's hometown is Toledo, O. Contrary to popular belief, he is not blind and is able to see quite well out of his good right eye. He is a man of medium height and build and moves about in a deliberate manner, which undoubtedly is due to the aforementioned handicap. You will always see him accompanied by his good friend Mr. Hicks.
How to acquire and maintain a surefire technique such as his is a question that always bobs up whenever he is talked about. Many persons I know will refuse to discuss the subject - as if such a discussion belongs only to leads* beyond the veil. In any case, his music can be enjoyed and if there are any questions arising from it the one to see is Art Tatum himself, twentieth century wizard of the ivories.
* I'm not sure about this word, since the source material is damaged at this point in the article.
THE JAZZ LIFE
by Herbert H. Nichols
The New York Age
Saturday August 23, 1941 (p. 10)
Of all the ways for a young Negro to get a financial foothold in life, the jazz racket is easiest. All that is needed is a little common sense and a desire to get ahead. Make one mistake and then make the same mistake no longer.
It's important that one be able to mix in society. Gin mills, theatres, rehearsals and parties are the order of the day. It is to the advantage of the entertainer to become a master of small talk and to acquire his own line of jive for he will soon learn that most of his time will be taken up doing just that.
If you keep a good front and remain hard on the inside you're definitely suited for what lies ahead. The jazz racket is pretty good to colored musicians. With a commensurate amount of learning in some other field they would probably remain broke and out of a job for indefinite periods. But fortunately for him in this instance, while America continues to look to him for a highly touted form of primitive entertainment that can't be had elsewhere. Colored entertainers should take advantage of this situation.
Colored bands have got to keep traveling in order to make money. They are unable to to get sufficient commercial and location spots in order to remain stationary and so must keep on the move. Playing the road is more tiresome than working a location spot any day. There are a million more headaches, anyway.
Playing the smaller towns is much different from playing the bigger urban centers. A lot of the plush and streamlined comfort found in the big cities is missing in the smaller tank towns. In some sections a band may have to change its style definitely in order to satisfy the patrons. Country people take it for granted that the big bands rolling through their burgh always have plenty of money to spend and they don't think it all irregular to jack up some of their prices around town.
After a long tour the average musician looks forward to the vaudeville dates in the large metropolitan theatres of the country. This is where the big money is made. During this period they play three to six shows a day and may be compelled to get in a good deal of rehearsing, meanwhile. That is work calling for a twenty-four hour schedule.
When a big band appears on the stage togged in multi-colored monkey jackets and taped trousers and playing a fine arrangement, your first impression is that everything has been rehearsed well and that all is quiet backstage. However, there are many other problems that must be worried about. All sorts of acts are jumbled together on these bills, and if the house manager chooses his acts unwisely, the featured band may suffer.
A controversy that has been raging for years from coast to coast is the question of the colored musician's tone. Some fellows claim that they haven't any tone and that is the reason why they miss out on hotel jobs and commercials; and that if they acquire a good tone such lucrative jobs will be forthcoming. It is true that the acquisition of a good tone on a wind instrument calls for the proper kind of study for a sufficient length of time. It is also true that many of our musicians are lacking in this respect. However, I don't think it has much to do with the present difficulties facing him.
The jazz life is ninety percent sham and front. There is always a quick turnover - in money and in personnel. The trouble is that most of us consider it an end in itself when it should be regarded as merely a means to an end.
THE JAZZ LIFE
by Herbert H. Nichols
The New York Age
Saturday August 30, 1941 (p. 10)
The very interesting drama of small-time club life that goes on in Harlem year in year out, supplying happiness and succor for a hard working and hard living people.
These include many hundred musicians who depend on club dates (gigs, one-night stand of what have you) for the chief source of their livelihood. Managing the Savoy Ballroom or Renaissance Casino is very big business compared to running one of these small clubs.
At most of these small affairs the entertainment will follow a set pattern. This includes the free flow of all kinds of alcoholic beverages that must be bought on the outside. It's an old story that many clubs in the past have been shuttered on account of some enterprising and unsuspecting waiter trying to sell the wrong party the wrong kind of a drink.
As I said before, the entertainment usually follows a set pattern and oftimes is spontaneous. Take the case of Rudy and his dancing partner, erstwhile troupers. The average club member and musician may recall the many times that the Shiek, as he is sometimes called, has made a pompous entrance into a dance hall, replete with cane, gloves and derby and the times when just as he was about to begin his dance (I say his dance because the specialty he performs, defies copying) the way he would solemnly doff his gloves. And then just as he was about to enter upon the dance floor, he would in all seriousness endeavor to rub off any extraneous increment from the soles of his shoes by working his two feet up and down in the manner of a prize fighter trying to get a foothold in a sea of resin. Rudy, his side-burns, attire, dancing partner and ballroom routine are all out of a bygone era and will surely be missed as time passes by.
The seasonal traits in this business remains fixed - a tough scuffle ensues during the winter months followed by a complete slow-down in the late spring and summer. Clubs may rent any of the smaller halls for a very small sum, with an additional fee for use of the bar where soft drinks are sold. The check rooms are where the profits are made and these are sold to a concessionaire by the owner.
The bloodhounds of the music game, who are the union delegates, perform their thankless tasks in as unobtrusive a manner as they know how. They cover all these affairs to see that only Local 802 men are on the job and also to remind the boys of the tax which must be paid into the union, a matter of 3 cents on every dollar earned.
In the summer time some of these delegates police the excursion steamers to prevent any union men from playing on unreported jobs. Many times they will meet a boat before it leaves the pier and return to meet it when it docks at night. At times the situations resulting from this "cops and robbers" game become ludicrous.
Whenever a lodge or fraternal order gives a dance, there is always a greater showing of camaraderie among the crowd. The grand march always climaxes the night's entertainment. During the time the introduction of the officers and members of a club is taking place, the audience is always noisy, making a difficult job for the emcee. When these halls finally acquire mikes, I believe the evening's proceedings will be more business like, but a lot of fun will be missing just the same.
In most lodge affairs, there is less restraint in their efforts to have fun, and I think they justify the existence of the small clubs.
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