Tatum’s Tiger Rag is WILDLY hard to play

[@JoshWalshMusic]

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[@kwgm8578]

Tatum had huge hands. I never saw them. Tatum died in 1956 of renal failure. My father saw him play on the West Coast somewhere. Shook his hand. "It was fat and puffy, like a big warm pillow," he told me, many years later. "Tatum's long fingers completely wrapped around the back of my hand." Ten years ago in April, Chucho Valdez, Jr., known as "Chuchito" gave a master class at DU's Lamont Music School. I was there and was introduced by a friend on the faculty. When we shook hands, he engulfed my regular-sized hand. Since there were students waiting, I welcomed him to Colorado, and expressed my gratitude. Almost as an afterthought I asked his reach -- "A twelfth," I guessed? "No," he smiled, "a thirteenth!" That night as I settled in to sleep, I thought again of my father and what he told me about Tatum. "No one could cut him." Arthur Tatum, born October 13, 1909, in Toledo, Ohio. Died before his 50th birthday. One of our greatest jazz pianists.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

I studied at a music school in Toledo, right down the road from where he played! But I wasn’t here in 1956 to compare hand sizes.

[@kwgm8578]

@@JoshWalshMusic Well, I was in New Jersey then, but had not yet mastered the technique of tying my shoes, and could not go anywhere without my Mommy. Still, I think my hand would feel very small in Art Tatum's. Toledo must have had its effect because you play those arpeggios much better than I ever could. Thanks for educating us about Mr. Tatum, and everything else here.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

@@kwgm8578 thanks for the great comment!

[@kwgm8578]

@@JoshWalshMusic My pleasure, friend.

[@jdizzlekeys]

Oscar Peterson says in his interview with Andrew Previn that he can span a 13th comfortably, I believe.

[@wortleyclutterbuk7347]

Playing like this does make me want to weep for reasons I can't quite explain. Thanks for taking the time to break it down. The three-hand business brought to mind, for some reason, the Sousa-Horowitz "Stars and Stripes Forever" which indulges in the same thing for no discernible reason other than the pure joy of virtuosity. (The Volodos performance here on youtube is great because of how angry Volodos looks. "Vlad, why are you doing this to me???) Meantime thanks for your videos -- so informative and fun. Keep up the good work!

[@JoshWalshMusic]

I tried the Horowitz one in college. It wasn’t pretty 🤣

[@agamazofficial]

man I really love seeing Art Tatum getting some love, he completely changed what I thought music was possible since a teenager, even when I played the piano I never managed to play his insane arpeggios, and yeah his harmonies and technique are just pure un-human godlike sound, that I never heard from anyone else

[@hackbritton3233]

Thanks for doing this but always remember Art did it without hearing Art Tatum recordings. 😊

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Of course!

[@josiah566]

His recordings also stand in contrast with the stories of him at the time. Most of his early recordings in the 30s and 40s that went to 78s, suffered from the 2:30 - 3:00 limit per side. There are stories of him in the early-mid 30s going to rent parties and running through 3-4 bassists in record time, or of him going into clubs (after tearing down other sttride pianists and establishing himself on the top), taking the stage and playing out of his mind for 12 minutes straight.

[@MooPotPie]

But he DID hear the piano rolls of Lee Sims.

[@eksunflower]

Thank you 🙏🙏🙏🙏 for introducing me to this artist and helping me discover the depth of his playing. Fascinating!

[@stevenhaff7973]

Thank you Josh! You willingness to break down harmonic characteristics and Art's unique filigree really gives an inner view into what Art thought and what he liked/revered.

[@PiotrBarcz]

Just some more info on Tatum: He could span a 13th making the jumps he had to execute smaller relative to the size of his handspan making his playing far more efficient and less taxing He might've been visually impaired but not enough to not be able to play poker and pool I've read so he could clearly see well enough to tell where his hands were And anyone with enough technical prowess can play those runs, lets face it, Tatum's runs can probably be played if you can play Flight Of The Bumblebee or something else with a LOT of arpeggios like that. You just have to have the technique down to do it :D

[@JoshWalshMusic]

I have been able to play bumblebee for about a decade. I am barely able to hang on to some of these runs. The technique is remarkable, but you are right, he’s far from the only one with that technique. What’s amazing is that he would improvise like this for hours and hours without stopping. Thanks for the great comment!

[@PiotrBarcz]

@@JoshWalshMusic Good point about his improvisation! People say I can improvise but when I hear what a true master of the craft like Tatum or Teddy Wilson could do with a simple tune just makes me scratch my head and wonder how!

[@dylan-kerry]

@@JoshWalshMusicI’ve been bust learning this piece and I can play most of it up to tempo but there is this one rub that just seems impossible to hit all the notes in the right hand in the correct order at the speed Tatum plays it at. It’s just impossible

[@agamazofficial]

my method is always W.T.F. - which stands for what the fuck

[@raymondwilson8005]

My second all time favourite Tatum solo ( Sweet Lorraine and I've gotta right to sing the blues 1939 recordings are my joint favs) I've listened to this close on 50 years and it never ceases to amaze and astound. I can't imagine the impact this had when it was released over eighty years ago. He did versions of this in the early 30s but this version is so tight and compact. Long live Arthur Tatum!❤

[@GradyBaby13]

Jeeezzzz - V. Horowitz

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Have you heard the story about Horowitz playing this for Tatum? It’s a riot.

[@dylan-kerry]

@@JoshWalshMusicI heard one about Tea For Two. Is that the one you’re referencing? If so I can agree it’s certainly a humours tale

[@DuncanCustomAirbrush]

Great hook and set-up👍 I enjoyed following your journey

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks man.

[@AWakestein]

If you are interesting in learning Tatums runs, Dick Hyman has an interview on KZbin in which he shows several of Art’s runs and the fingering

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Seen it 500 times 😂

[@thearthurmigliazza]

Great video Josh. Perfect!

[@PiotrBarcz]

One recording I highly recommend you listen to is the Zenph Studios reperformance that is an EXACT replica of Tatum's playing but recorded on a Yamaha Disklavier, the amount of detail exposed is incredible!

[@martynramsden]

Like your DUPE method Josh - wow what an insane pianist! Jaw dropping and he could stretch a 13th! Simply wow! Really enjoyed your post 😁🎹👍🏻

[@savlecz1187]

Great analysis! I'd love your take on Tatum's I Know That You Know. Or maybe even Tea for Two, but especially the 1953 version, not just the '33 version which has been done to death by now.

[@anonymousvip1665]

Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson are two of my favourite Jazz Pianists ever, RIP to them both.

[@cyrilhiddekel2480]

Someone called ART...he's just the expression of art

[@joemankowski3898]

What a nice analysis you did here. Basically we pianists have to agree the old adage, "You Can't ImiTATUM!!"

[@barrygordon5323]

Their are people that are such geniuses that their just beyond category,I known classical pianists I've known that play all the Rachmaninov concertos,that have tried this piece,and failed ..their is one fine pianist who recorded this,he did great,but didn't come close to art.. because art was a freak of nature.. and technically at least,the greatest jazz pianist that ever lived..take it from me,some people can at times sound close,but believe me,their not close, knowone will equal him, because he had just to many levels of genius going for him...

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Absolutely!

[@MRuthMcCants]

Hi Josh, with all of this erudite, "otherworldly" playing, perhaps I'll just have to create my own, "Theme on A Snail Playing A Rag". Thanks for creating DUPE, so that I can understand a bit of what I'm hearing on the Tatum recording.🙃

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Hey MaeRuth - you gotta send us a video of your snail rag! Sounds epic.

[@ProfRobertStewart]

TATUM played ALL styles, including Ragtime.

[@DojoOfCool]

Could you make a video sometime about Barry Harris and wholetone scale. There's a lot of Barry materials these days, but I don't see much on Barry and wholetone scale.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

I’ll consider it. I’m moving away from that directly instructional content on KZbin , but I may add something to the course on it.

[@DojoOfCool]

Something I've come across recently. Beboppers and Barry talk about diminish chord and how it's symmetrical made of all minor 3rds. There is a lot in that, but recently I heard someone talk about it as two tritones intervals put together. I've been thinking about that and it another cool way to view the dominants that come out of the diminished family of chords. Makes the dominants and tritone subs relationship standout in the diminished.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

@@DojoOfCoolthere are several symmetries like this that Barry taught. As you pointed out, the octave is split symmetrically by the tritone. The diminished triads are also symmetrical, as are the augmented. I have a video here showing how diminished chords give birth to dominants, and if you take that same logic further you also get major and minor 6th chords. That explains essentially all of Barry’s harmony.

[@PiotrBarcz]

Art Tatum did NOT play ragtime, Tiger Rag was only called that but it isn't a rag. Art Tatum played SWING piano.

[@kzsotto7375]

To label genres of Art Tatum is futile.

[@PiotrBarcz]

@@kzsotto7375 Nah, it isn't, if you actually understood the music well then you wouldn't say that. He was a genius, yes, but he played *swing* and *classical jazz* for most of his career. Not stride piano.

[@byronjohnson8844]

Tatum played "Tatum". Something never heard before and therefore not to be stuffed into a "stylistic basket".

[@PiotrBarcz]

@@byronjohnson8844 Nah, you're overcomplicating things. Yes, he had his own style, but it falls into the swing genre.

[@slapmyfunkybass]

The opening harmonies isn’t even Jazz but Impressionism, influences of Ravel and Debussy.

[@AdewStudios1]

awesome video, few people analyze tatum including runs cheers

[@byronjohnson8844]

For the naysayers; Musical "styles" or analysis is applied AFTER the fact. That applies to Bach, Chopin, Matthias Hauer and Cage. Neither copied what came before. Jazz, in particular, is an art form that night by night extends the envelope. My fighters best friend, and therefore my godfather was the iconic progressive jazz musician Eric Dolphy. As with Art Tatum and many others, one cannot categorize his genius by musical style. It is simply "Dolphy". And Art's music in the early 20th Century is simply "Tatum".

[@byronjohnson8844]

* father's (not fighters)

[@kzsotto7375]

True. Exactly.

[@KawhackitaRag]

That's exactly right.

[@agamazofficial]

In a documentary a pianist said some guy approached him which he thought he had gorilla hands based on what he put on his shoulder, and after he heard him he never wanted to play piano again, and yeah Art Tatum was almost blind lol, I think he would be surprised himself what he was doing if he saw what he was doing

[@rlevitta]

Watch Dick Hyman's analysis of Tatum - kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmKlgINqrNuDp5Y

[@leestanford2452]

Comparable to learning Liszt pieces it seems!

[@dr.brianjudedelimaphd743]

He's partially blind in one eye, he actually even drove his car to his gigs...

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Yup!

[@musical_lolu4811]

Imagine Shaquille O'Neal becoming a virtuoso pianist😮 There's a gospel organist/pianist that comes close, named Quenell Gaskin.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

I know right! LOL. Fun fact, Red Garland was a boxer before he became a jazz player.

[@HarrisonMossMusic]

Who's Art Tatum?

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Who’s James Booker?

[@ceharrington7712]

U mean The Bayou Maharajah😂😂😊😊

[@Don-James]

It is a crazy recording... awesome. Hard to analyze... The man famous for making old broken pianos sound good. IMO stride piano and ragtime are kind of interchangable, in terms of vocabulary.

[@oriraykai3610]

The most amazing thing I think about this tune is what a vast improvement it is over the original, a total piece of crap IMHO. 😄

[@KawhackitaRag]

"Tiger Rag" is a simple tune (supposedly derived from a French Quadrille perfomed in New Orleans, although I have never found any article by anyone who has correctly identified the original quadrille and its composer which was supposedly used as the basis for this), BUT even in its first commercial recording by the ODJB, it has much more than 'the sum of its parts', since they are performing it as collective ensemble work (probably mostly improvised). So although the published sheet music for it was greatly simplified to the bare essentials, the first known recording of the tune is still quite complicated. To date, I have NEVER heard a single pianist play the entire 1917 ODJB record of "Tiger Rag" (minus the drums of course) as a piano solo, or even as a piano duet. There are three horn lines going at once which all cross and overlap in many places due to the overlapping ranges of the trombone, cornet, and clarinet. It is not impossible to play their record as a piano duet, it is just very difficult. I am not sure how possible it is as a piano solo, because I have never tried it. However, at the recent (2024) World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest in Oxford, MS, pianist Zach Mandernach reduced down the Louis Armstrong record of "West End Blues" to a piano solo, including practically all the crossing horn lines (trumpet, clarinet, trombone etc) as well as Earl Hines' original piano part. He played them all at once, and they were actually distinct, musical, and the whole thing still swung (!!!). When I heard it (standing out in the hallway outside the auditorium), I thought I was ear-witnessing a feat of magic. I STILL don't understand how he did it. But then again I can't understand people who can divide their brain up enough to play a Bach 4-part fugue and keep all the 4 parts separate and distinct (or organists who are using all 4 limbs to do different and equally complicated things), although I have mad respect for that and know it CAN be done.

[@dylan-kerry]

There’s a reason this was one of the most widely recorded Jazz standards of all time. The piece is amazing full of nice melodies, and a fun riff in the middle. It’s great for improvising, and can be played on every instrument in a fine manner. It really doesn’t get much better than this piece

[@gadget348]

Art is technically brilliant, musically he's just a car crash.

[@gadget348]

@@KalmAM those weren't quite as bad, but...

[@josiah566]

a fun exercise is taking tatum's tunes and slowing them down so you can hear that actually his runs were precursors to bebop language (enclosures, chromatic approaches, interpolating different modes and scales over a single chord nature)

[@jefolson6989]

To say Tatum was not a good musician is ridiculous and just wrong. His improvisations are very musically sophisticated.

[@gadget348]

@@jefolson6989 musicianship is not just about what you play, its just as much about when you play it, ragtime doubly so. He's playing a ragtime tune without any ragtime feel at all, fingers everywhere but ears totally absent.

[@atereolusola2497]

Every top piano players ever would disagree vehemently with you!