It's Art Tatum and he is considered by many to be the greatest jazz pianist (maybe pianist period) ever. In 1938 Tatum dropped in to hear Fats Waller (not a bad piano player himself) play at a club. By way of introduction Waller told the audience, "I just play the piano, but God is in the house tonight." Vladimir Horowitz (who also was known to tinkle the ivories from time to time) was also a big fan. And, to top it off, Tatum was basically blind!
His technique is unbelievable, although I find you can only listen to so much of his stuff at once. The possibly apocryphal comment of the Emperor of Austria to Mozart sometimes comes to mind: "Too many notes, my dear Mozart." (Not really, but you get the idea).
Norman Granz recorded Tatum solo and in group contexts in the 1950s and a series of these recordings are available on Pablo. Check www.allmusic.com for a complete list and evaluation of Tatum recordings.
His technique is unbelievable, although I find you can only listen to so much of his stuff at once. The possibly apocryphal comment of the Emperor of Austria to Mozart sometimes comes to mind: "Too many notes, my dear Mozart." (Not really, but you get the idea).
Norman Granz recorded Tatum solo and in group contexts in the 1950s and a series of these recordings are available on Pablo. Check www.allmusic.com for a complete list and evaluation of Tatum recordings.