THE LEFT-HAND STRIDE PIANO TECHNIQUE OF ART TATUM

Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/k643b256t

Abstract

Art Tatum is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists ever. During a career beginning in the 1920s and spanning more than 30 years, he developed a signature solo piano style that stood alone as one of the most intricate and virtuosic displays of musicality in the history of jazz. Recorded primarily in this solo piano setting, Tatum built on the styles of top contemporary pianists, such as the stride piano techniques of Fats Waller and the more nuanced swing techniques of Teddy Wilson. Tatum developed a uniquely virtuosic stride lefthand language that he eloquently used to complement his formidable right· hand playing. In exploring selected transcriptions of Tatum's playing, this dissertation focuses on Tatum's lefthandstride piano style to offer a deeper understanding of its exquisite virtuosity, once termed by jazz pianist Ron Davis as "superstride." Drawing from Waller's striding figures and walking tenths, Wilson's tenor thumb melodies, and from his own creative repertoire, Art Tatum fashioned a full and distinctive stride piano left-hand style that continues to be studied by performers and aficionados of his formidable piano explorations.

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