ART TATUM: Piano Starts Here – Live at the Shrine
Sony Classical, 2008

SOLO PIANO – This disc needs a little explanation… Jazz piano god Art Tatum originally recorded these tracks in 1933 or in concert in 1949. The performances were great but the recordings were poor. So last year, Zenph Studios put each one through a rigorous computer analysis and recreated them on a Yamaha Disklavier – a high-tech grand piano. So these are like player-piano rolls, only incredibly detailed, accurate to the millisecond and (supposedly) revealing every nuance hidden by the muddy originals. Does it work? Is it restored art or soulless techno-trickery? Good or evil? You be the judge.

There are 13 tracks, presented twice: 1-13 are in stereo surround; 14-26 are in binaural stereo.

The first 4 tracks in each set (the 1933 cuts) were recorded in a studio, and the remainder in front of a live audience (which seems to be faking its enthusiasm) at the same venue as the original 1949 concert.

1 / 14 – trips & tiptoes merrily
2 / 15 – relaxed blues, gets knotty
3 / 16 – fast but perfectly articulated
4 / 17 – classy tune, tricky playing
5 / 18 – very playful classical theme
6 / 19 – quirky boogie-woogie
7 / 20 – relaxed and warm
8 / 21 – chopped-up and speedy
9 / 22 – in little gusts, then rolls
10 / 23 – playful introspection
11 / 24 – brief Irish melody
12 / 25 – elaborate and elegant
13 / 26 – walks, runs, leaps

[ Fo ] 10-Aug-08