[Dixielandjazz] Trad Jazz (British) and the piano

[Ken Mathieson]

Hi Marek,

Your story of Peterson being in the audience watching Tatum at work reminded me of another story Oscar told in a BBC programme. He recalled sitting at Tatum's back omn a club watching Art playing a beat-up piano which had a number of keys that stuck down when played and wouldn't sound until raised again. They were randomly spread around the keyboard, but before Tatum started to play, he sat at the piano and played a few warm-up runs over the entire keyboard, memorising which notes were sticking. Then, when he started playing in earnest, he appeared to be playing his trade-mark two-handed runs flawlessly. Oscar was mystified at first until saw Tatum play a run and when one hand passed the run over to the other, the resting hand swiftly popped all the sticking keys back into position so that they would play the next time he touched them. As Oscar remarked on the programme, it was only then that he realised just how accomplished Tatum really was: not only could he play these astonishingly complex and difficult passages with ease, but he was also able to repair the piano as he went along without interrupting the flow of his music. 'Genius' doesn't begin to describe ability like that and 50 years on, Peterson was humble enough to defer to it in public.

Cheers,

Ken
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Marek Boym 
  To: Ken Mathieson 
  Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List 
  Sent: Friday, February 21, 2014 11:56 PM
  Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Trad Jazz (British) and the piano


  Hello Ken,

  Your email remings me of two things:

  First - Keith Nicholls' remark (at the 1984 Edinbourgh festival)  "amazing how soon jazz festival pianos die; this one died an hour ago," and 

  Second, the story about Art Tatum playing a piano with two keys missing, while Oscar Peterson, hired to follow him  in a few days, was in the audience.  Tatum told the landlord that the piano was out of order, and that although he, a seasoned veteran, could play it, his young replacemtn might not be able to do so.  The landlord protested: what do you mean out of order?  I had it compelety repainted a few weeks ago (frop memory, not the exact words exchanged).

  Cheers




  On 22 February 2014 00:58, Ken Mathieson <ken at kenmath.free-online.co.uk> wrote:

    Hi all,

    I've never been a fan of pianoless rhythm sections, but in the days before electric pianos, a trad jazz gig was always a lottery given the shocking state of the majority of pianos encountered in pubs and clubs. One disastrous piano gig above all sticks in my mind: it was a rugby club dance and the piano was BAD. In the main it was a semi-tone out, but of course not consistently so across the 88 keys. Our pianist tried bravely to play everything a semi-tone different from normal, but eventually retired to the bar at the first interval a defeated man.

    There he had a heated conversation with the organiser, who asked him if the piano just needed a "bit of tuning or a full overhaul." The pianist's reply was "What it needs is a (expletive deleted) Viking Funeral!"

    Cheers,

    Ken
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