[.ca] Best Of The Complete Pablo Gro

Great way to introduce a jazz piano pioneer into your ear...:
This is my first Tatum CD. My reading indicated that his best work was done solo, but my personal preference is for small-group jazz of the '50's, and this is exactly that. After long exposure to Shearing, Brubeck, Peterson, and other piano giants, and short but intense submersion into Monk, I finally felt ready for Tatum. Well, I like this a lot. Here are 12 classic songs from jazz and pop music, interpreted by Art when he was in his forties, and recorded well for Norman Granz in '55 and '56. For 70 minutes, you hear not only Tatum, but Lionel Hampton on vibes, Buddy Rich on drums, Buddy DeFranco on clarinet, Roy Eldrige on trumpet, Ben Webster on tenor saxophone, Benny Carter on alto sax, Sweets Edison on trumpet, etc. And the sidemen get interesting solo moments which add a lot to the enjoyment. If I were a pianist, I'd probably want to hear Art by himself, but I'm just a non-musican casual jazz fan. I don't need the expensive box set that this disc is meant to entice listeners to invest in, but I am glad I bought this great sampler. Most of these tracks are ballad or mid-tempo renditions, four-to-seven minute explorations of love songs by Rodgers and Hart, Kern and Hammerstein, Porter, Gershwin and others. The sound quality is fine, and the overall effect of the CD is cheerful. Musicians can study Tatum's technique and keep the earphones on to dissect how the other players either stay out of Art's way, or challenge him, or compliment him. I just put it on the player when I'm reading or sitting at the computer or puttering around the house doing quiet cleaning.

• Perdido
• Memories of You
• You Took Advantage of Me
• All the Things You Are
• Body and Soul
• Under a Blanket of Blue
• Moon Is Low
• Just One of Those Things
• Street of Dreams
• Somebody Loves Me
• My Ideal
• Deep Night