Bio

Art Tatum (1909-1956) was a legendary pianist that paved the way for swing through his contributions on the piano. Tatum built off the stride piano playing that have been previously established by James P. Johnson and Jelly Roll Morton and helped pave a way for a new era of jazz. At the time, Tatum really pushed what was technically possible on the piano. He mentored many of bebop pianists including Bud Powell and Mary Lou Williams. Tatum recorded over 40 albums as a leader and played with many jazz greats.