1. Home
  2. music
  3. 199012-1647

Oscar Peterson vs. Art Tatum

Mosaic recently released a compilation of CDs entitled The Classic Oscar Peterson Trio Studio Sessions With Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen.  In the opening notes Bob Blumenthal correctly writes that Peterson had "technique and harmonic fluidity to rival Art Tatum" and yet that fact has troubled me for years.  Everything the trio played was well rehearsed.  Nothing was left to chance.  Anyone who ever went to hear the group live commented on how they played the same tunes, the same riffs, same everything night after night.  This was a well staged act.  I heard Stanley Turrentine in Chicago years ago and he covered some Coltrane things.  It was uncanny and when I spoke with him he said "Oh yes, once someone shows me how to play a piece, I can play just about anything.  The difference is that John can stand up there and think that shit up as he goes along.  The difference between true genius and the rest of us mere mortals."  And that is the difference between Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum.  Don't get me wrong, Peterson is terrific and this set is well worth hearing.  In my youth I wanted to be a drummer and learned to play brushes from Ed Thigpen.  Wonderful stuff.  Truly.  Just keep it all in perspective.  With total respect for everyone involved including Bob Blumenthal, who I grew up reading while I was a student at Berklee, when it comes to INVENTIVENESS, harmonic and otherwise, there is Art Tatum without equal.  Oscar Peterson definitely had the chops, but he could not think that shit up as he went along.  It has only taken me 60 years to figure this out, but then I am also a mere mortal.

billstevenson
wsrrsw's avatar
wsrrsw
1,489 posts
 

@audphile1 Know them all but (and always liked on Trilogy 2 the cover of Crepuscule with Nellie & the famous cover of All Blues) not Charlie Haden and Gonzalo Rubalcaba live album “Tokyo Adagio” On it. Thx Daddyoh.

coltrane1's avatar
coltrane1
897 posts
 

It’s jazz. Love ‘em all!

chrisoshea
606 posts
 

OP...My Oscar Peterson story...In the late 1970s in Kansas City there was an All-Star concert featuring the Count Basie Orch. and many of his famous Pablo label mates including Ella, Sweets Edison etc..all fabulous ......During the concert, Oscar came on stage and played two tunes solo. I can’t remember the tunes or how long each was played because OP MADE TIME STAND STILL for this listener...Yes friends, in a room full of world-class musicians and listeners, Oscar stopped the show like no other musician I have heard before or since. I know many audiophiles have many of his Verve and Pablo trio records, and they can have a certian sameness to me, great but just OK. I suggest you try some of his solo stuff on MPS / BASF  ...AND yeah DUH...NOBODY could top Tatum!

Post removed 
vinylrestingplace's avatar
vinylrestingplace
48 posts
 

The only thing silly about this discussion is the title. AT and OP did not compete. They are of a different generation, one died in his forties and the other performed when he was eighty. One was blind and rarely traveled and recorded sparsely. Very few people today--outside of jazz fans--know who Art Tatum was, whereas OP is widely known, led worldwide tours and sold millions of records, in fact was at his peak in the era of stereo recording. When people did see him perform they wanted to hear what they heard on his his records. OP certainly improvised (I saw him four times) but did not experiment: he was an entertainer. Miles' comment is predictable: he (Miles) was an innovator like Tatum and was NOT an entertainer! He notoriously ignored his audience and was known to turn his back on the audience. I saw Miles a number of times in his later years and was not always good. There were some nights when he was awful, playing some watered-down rock music to teenagers. Sorry I never got to see Tatum, though...

More to discover