Art Tatum
b. 13 October 1909, Toledo, Ohio, USA, d. 5 November 1956. Born into a musical family, Tatum was handicapped from birth by impaired sight. Blind in one eye and only partially sighted in the other, he nevertheless studied piano formally and learned to read music. By his mid-teens he was playing professionally in Toledo. He played briefly in the Speed Webb band, but was mostly active as a soloist or in small groups working in clubs and playing on radio. He was heard by singer Adelaide Hall, who took him on the road as her accompanist. With Hall he travelled to New York in 1932 and the following year made his first recordings. He spent the next few years playing clubs in Cleveland and Chicago but in 1937 was back in New York, where his playing in clubs, on radio and on record established his reputation as a major figure in jazz circles. He toured the USA and also played in the UK. In the early '40s he formed a trio with bassist Slam Stewart and guitarist Tiny Grimes which became extremely popular. For the next decade Tatum toured extensively, performing throughout North America. In the early '50s he was signed by Norman Granz who recorded him in a series of remarkable performances, both as soloist (THE SOLO MASTERPIECES) and in a small group context with Benny Carter, Buddy De Franco, Roy Eldridge, Lionel Hampton, Ben Webster and others (THE GROUP MASTERPIECES). A matchless virtuoso performer, Tatum's impact on the New York jazz scene in the early '30s had extensive repercussions. Even Fats Waller, an acknowledged master and someone Tatum had listened to on record in his own formative years, was aware of the phenomenal talent of the newcomer, reputedly declaring onstage—when he spotted Tatum in the audience—‘God is in the house tonight’. 
Tatum's dazzling extemporizations on themes from jazz and the classics but mostly from the popular song book, became bywords and set standards few of his successors matched and none surpassed. Capable of breathtaking runs, interspersed with striking single notes and sometimes unexpected chords, he developed a unique solo style. His powerful left-hand figures tipped a hat in the direction of stride whilst he simultaneously explored the limits of an orthodox keyboard like no other pianist in jazz (and few elsewhere). A playful habit of quoting from other melodies, a technique which in unskilled hands can be merely irritating, was developed into a singular stylistic device. Unlike some virtuoso performers, Tatum never sacrificed feeling and swing for effect. Although he continued to develop throughout his career, it is hard to discover any recorded evidence that he was never poised and polished. His prodigious talent allowed him to achieve extraordinary recording successes: his solo sessions for Granz were mostly completed in two days— 69 tracks, all but three needing only one take. Ray Spencer, whose studies of the artist are extensive, has commented that Tatum achieved such a remarkable work rate through constant ‘refining and honing down after each performance until an ideal version remained needing no further adjustments’. While this is clearly so, Tatum's performances never suggest a man merely going through the motions. Everything he did was fresh and vital, as if minted especially for the occasion in hand. Although he remains a major figure in jazz piano, Tatum is often overlooked in the cataloguing of those who affected the course of the music. He appears to stand to one side of the developing thrust of jazz, yet his creativity and the manner in which he explored harmonic complexities and unusual chord sequences influenced many musicians, including Bud Powell and Herbie Hancock, and especially non-pianists, amongst whom can be listed Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. The word genius is often used carelessly but, in assessing Tatum and the manner in which he transformed ideas and the imagined limitations of the piano in jazz, it is hard to think of a word that is more appropriate. 
Further reading: ART TATUM (A GUIDE TO HIS RECORDED MUSIC), Arnold Laubich and Ray Spencer.