Art Tatum

The English pianist Alan Clare was once intrigued with a workman who was carrying out some remodeling inside his house. Clare was playing some recordings, and he began to notice that the workman was whistling along with whatever music he put on – Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, it didn’t seem to matter. Even if he hadn’t heard it before, he had the natural musical ability to follow a melody closely and almost automatically. Clare decided to give him a real test and dug up his recording of Art Tatum doing Tea For Two, with the ground-breaking chord changes Tatum introduced into the tune. The workman never lost a beat nor did he lay out for a bar or two to figure out what was going on. He tracked Tatum flawlessly through all his changes, and when the record ended, he spoke for the first time. He glanced at Clare and with classic English understatement said, ‘Tricky f**ker, ain’t he?’

There is no such thing as a wrong note.

It’s not jazz as we know jazz here in America.

I like to know for whom I’m writing – it makes the composition easier to do.

I’m a fan first. I believed Duke Ellington when he said there’s no bad music, just some of it is presented badly. As a kid, hanging around Church Street, the presentation of music was so powerful, I couldn’t help but jump for joy. I had discovered art, or truth, or whatever you want to call it; I had seen a light I’d follow forever.

It angers me how scholars associate the blues strictly with tragedy.

The true musician is to bring light into people’s hearts.

Its all about finding the right note at the right place and knowing when to leave it alone.

There’s a sadness to all kinds of music if you want to hear it. There’s also happiness to it if you want to hear it. Blues was started by the slaves and I think everybody thinks that it all should be sad… even some of the slaves had fun with it.

Working with Benny was important for me and for black musicians in general.

You can’t copy anybody and end with anything. If you copy, it means you’re working without any real feeling.

I hear beauty and elegance combined with passion and fire.

Some players get very philosophical and cerebral about Jazz. You don’t need any prologues, you just play.

Never play anything the same way twice.

There are four qualities essential to a great Jazzman: taste, courage, individuality and irreverence. These are the qualities I want to retain in my music.

Music is a calling that you must bring your best to, whether listening, practicing or performing.

It’s not the style that motivates me, as much as an attitude of openness that I have when I go into a project.