Tatum's Brunswick Record Deal

Jazz pianist Arthur Tatum Jr. signed with Brunswick Records in 1933, recording his first four solo sides in March of that year. Tatum's first solo piano job in New York was at the Onyx Club, which was later reported to have paid him $45 a week and free whiskey.

Brunswick Records' history

Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916 by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa. The company had been manufacturing products ranging from pianos to sporting equipment since 1845. In 1916, they began producing phonographs and, as an afterthought, decided to market their own line of records. These first records were recorded in the United States but sold only in Canada, and they were not sold in large numbers.

In 1920, a new line of Brunswick Records was introduced in the US and Canada that employed the lateral cut system, which was becoming the default for 78 discs. The company's parent company marketed them extensively, and within a few years, Brunswick became a competitor to America's "big three" record companies: Edison Records, Victor, and Columbia Records.

Brunswick's line of home phonographs were commercially successful, and the company had a hit with their Ultona phonograph, which could play Edison Disc Records, Pathé disc records, and standard lateral 78s. In 1924, Brunswick acquired the Vocalion Records label. The audio fidelity of early-1920s, acoustically-recorded Brunswick discs was above average for the era, although not as durable as those produced by Victor.

Brunswick had a roster of significant classical and popular soloists, including pianists Leopold Godowsky and Josef Hofmann, and violinists Bronislaw Huberman and Max Rosen. They also had a successful business supplying radio with sponsored transcriptions of popular music, comedy, and personalities.

In the spring of 1925, Brunswick introduced its own version of electrical recording, which it called the "Light-Ray" process. Once Brunswick's engineers had control of their new equipment, the company expanded its popular music recording activities, exploiting its roster of stars, including the dance bands of Bob Haring, Isham Jones, Ben Bernie, and Abe Lyman.

Based in Chicago, many of the city's best orchestras and performers recorded for Brunswick, including Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, King Oliver, Johnny Dodds, Andy Kirk, and Red Nichols. The label also initiated a 7000 race series, with a distinctive 'lightning bolt' label design, which recorded hot jazz, urban and rural blues, and gospel.

In April 1930, Brunswick-Balke-Collender sold Brunswick Records to Warner Bros., and the company's headquarters moved to New York. In 1931, the Brunswick trademark was leased to the American Record Corporation (ARC), and the label became ARC's flagship, selling records for 75 cents. In 1939, ARC was bought by the Columbia Broadcasting System, which discontinued the Brunswick label in 1940 in favour of reviving its Columbia label.

In 1941, Warner sold the Brunswick and Vocalion labels to American Decca, with all masters recorded prior to December 1931. Decca revived the Brunswick label in 1943, mostly for reissues of recordings from earlier decades, particularly Bing Crosby's early hits of 1931 and jazz items from the 1920s.

After World War II, American Decca releases were issued in the United Kingdom on the Brunswick label until 1968, when the MCA Records label was introduced in the UK. In the 1950s, American Decca made Brunswick its leading rock and roll label, featuring artists such as Buddy Holly & the Crickets.

Starting in the latter part of the 1950s and continuing into the 1970s, the label recorded mainly R&B/soul acts, such as Jackie Wilson, the Chi-Lites, and Tyrone Davis.

Legal problems caused Brunswick to become dormant after 1982, and the label has had no new releases since then.

Art Tatum's early life

Arthur Tatum Jr. (1909-1956) was born in Toledo, Ohio, on October 13, 1909. Tatum was born with impaired vision, which was likely due to cataracts. By the age of 11, he had undergone several eye operations that allowed him to see objects close to him and perhaps distinguish colours. Unfortunately, the benefits of these procedures were reversed when he was assaulted, most likely in his early twenties, which left him completely blind in his left eye and with very limited vision in his right.

Tatum's father, Arthur Tatum Sr., was a mechanic, and his mother, Mildred Hoskins, was a domestic worker. The couple had four children, with Tatum being the oldest to survive. Accounts vary on whether his parents played any musical instruments, but it is likely that he was exposed to church music from a young age through the Grace Presbyterian Church that his parents attended.

Tatum began playing the piano at a young age and was aided by his excellent memory and sense of pitch. He learned tunes by ear, from the radio, records, and by copying piano roll recordings. At age 13, Tatum concentrated on the piano and soon began performing on local radio programs. He attended Jefferson School in Toledo and later moved to the School for the Blind in Columbus, Ohio, in 1924. After less than a year, he transferred to the Toledo School of Music, where he received formal piano lessons in the classical tradition from Overton G. Rainey, who was also visually impaired.

Tatum began playing piano professionally in his teens and had his own radio program, which was rebroadcast nationwide. In 1927, he won an amateur competition, which led to regular appearances on Toledo radio station WSPD. By the late 1920s, Tatum's extraordinary technical ability was already being acclaimed by fellow musicians, and he had established himself as one of the greatest jazz pianists.

In 1932, Tatum left Toledo and began residencies as a solo pianist at clubs in major cities, including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. It was also in 1932 that he made his first studio recordings with vocalist Adelaide Hall, with whom he toured the United States. In March 1933, Tatum recorded his first four released solo sides for Brunswick Records: "St. Louis Blues", "Sophisticated Lady", "Tea for Two", and "Tiger Rag".

Art Tatum's career

Arthur "Art" "Tatum" Jr. was born in Toledo, Ohio, on October 13, 1909. He suffered from cataracts from infancy, resulting in blindness in one eye and severely limited vision in the other. Despite this, Tatum displayed an early aptitude for music and began playing the piano at a young age. By the time he was a teenager, he was performing on local radio programs in Toledo.

In 1927, Tatum began playing interludes on Toledo radio station WSPD, and soon had his own radio program. By the age of 19, he was playing at the local Waiters' and Bellmens' Club. Word of his talent spread, and national performers such as Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson would go out of their way to hear him play when passing through Toledo.

In 1932, vocalist Adelaide Hall heard Tatum play in Toledo and recruited him to be her accompanist in New York. There, he made his first studio recordings, including "Tea for Two", a song that would stay with him throughout his career. In New York, Tatum also established his reputation in cutting contests with other top pianists, including Fats Waller and James P. Johnson, whom he overwhelmed with his skill.

Tatum spent the next few years playing in Cleveland, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. During this time, he continued to build his reputation as a major figure in jazz circles. In 1937, he returned to New York, and the following year, he embarked on a tour of England, playing for three months at Ciro's Club in London.

In the early 1940s, Tatum formed a trio with bassist Slam Stewart and guitarist Tiny Grimes. They were a commercial success, and Tatum spent much of the next decade touring North America with them. In 1953, he was signed by producer Norman Granz and recorded extensively as a soloist and in small groups with other prominent jazz musicians.

Throughout his career, Tatum was known for his incredible speed and technical prowess at the piano. He combined this with a strong, swinging pulse and spectacular cadenzas that swept across the entire keyboard. He often improvised by inserting entirely new chord progressions into his performances, and he reharmonized pop tunes in ways that became standard practice among modern jazz musicians.

Tatum died on November 5, 1956, in Los Angeles, from complications of uremia (kidney failure). Despite his relatively short career, he left a lasting influence on jazz, and his innovative style continues to inspire musicians to this day.

Art Tatum's style

Tatum's style was principally influenced by Fats Waller and James P. Johnson, who were masters of the stride piano style. To a lesser extent, he was also influenced by the more modern Earl Hines. Tatum's style was also shaped by pianist Lee Sims, who used chord voicings and an orchestral approach that would also appear in Tatum's playing.

Tatum's style was based on popular song form, with two bars of melodic development followed by two more melodically static bars, which he filled with rapid runs or arpeggios. From the 1940s, he began to lengthen these runs to eight or more bars, continuing them across the natural eight-bar boundaries of a composition's structure, and adopted a harder, more aggressive attack. He also increased the frequency of harmonic substitutions and the variety of musical devices played by his left hand, and developed a greater harmonic and contrapuntal balance across the piano's upper and lower registers.

Tatum's improvisational style differed from the typical approach in modern jazz. Instead of creating new melodic lines over a harmonic progression, he implied or played the original melody or fragments of it, while superimposing countermelodies and new phrases to create new structures based on variation. This flexibility also extended to his use of rhythm: regardless of the tempo, he could alter the number of notes per beat and use other techniques to alter his phrasing's rhythmic intensity and shape.

Tatum's style was also characterised by his use of dissonance in his chords, his advanced use of substitute chord progressions, and his occasional use of bitonality (playing in two keys at the same time).

Tatum's technical mastery allowed him to transform the styles of preceding jazz piano through virtuosity. Where other pianists employed repetitive rhythmic patterns and relatively simple decoration, he created "harmonic sweeps of colour [and] unpredictable and ever-changing shifts of rhythm".

Tatum's playing was also noted for its calm physical demeanor, with his hands appearing to glide horizontally across the keys. He was also able to use his thumbs and little fingers to add melody lines while playing something else with his other fingers.

Art Tatum's legacy

Arthur Tatum Jr., born on October 13, 1909, in Toledo, Ohio, is widely regarded as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. Tatum's technical dexterity, improvisational skills, and innovative use of reharmonization, voicing, and bitonality extended the vocabulary and boundaries of jazz piano. His recordings, such as the classic "Tea for Two" in 1933, set a new standard for jazz piano, influencing both his contemporaries and subsequent generations of musicians.

Tatum's legacy is that of a brilliant and influential musician who transformed jazz piano and inspired countless others. His impact extended beyond the piano, as his innovations in harmony and rhythm established new ground in jazz as a whole. Tatum's recordings and performances captivated audiences and fellow musicians alike, with his technical prowess and creative improvisations.

Tatum's influence can be seen in the work of many musicians who came after him, including pianists such as Adam Makowicz, Simon Nabatov, Oscar Peterson, and Martial Solal, who memorised and recreated his recordings to learn from them. Even those who played in very different styles, such as Bud Powell, Lennie Tristano, and Herbie Hancock, were influenced by his groundbreaking style.

Tatum's impact was not limited to the piano. Saxophonist Charlie Parker, for example, worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant where Tatum performed just so he could listen to him play. Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and vocalist Tony Bennett also incorporated aspects of Tatum's playing into their own performances.

Tatum's legacy is also felt in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio. In 1989, the city established the Art Tatum African American Resource Center, which organises cultural programs and houses a collection of print, audio, and microfiche materials related to Tatum and African American culture. In 2003, a historical marker was placed outside Tatum's childhood home, and efforts are currently underway to restore the house and improve the neighbourhood.

Tatum's impact on jazz piano and the broader jazz genre is undeniable. His technical mastery, combined with his innovative approach to harmony and rhythm, forever changed the landscape of jazz. His influence can be heard in the playing of countless musicians who followed in his footsteps, ensuring that his legacy will continue to inspire and shape jazz for generations to come.

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