Art Tatum stuns his contemporaries in New York

Art Tatum
Art Tatum. Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives

In 1932, a young, blind pianist from Ohio called Art Tatum was invited to what his biographer called "the welcoming committee from hell" when he arrived in New York. The reigning kings of jazz piano, including Fats Waller, invited him to a club session to let him know who was boss, but Tatum blew them all away. European emigre classical pianists, from Sergei Rachmaninov to Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein, were among the fans of a virtuoso who could throw off improvised pieces as complex and orchestral in scope as the most advanced classical piano compositions. Though Tatum wasn't a bebop player, his fast improvising over complex harmonies influenced Charlie Parker. Tatum's astonishing unaccompanied recordings made in the 50s still stun listeners today.

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