ART SEXTET TATUM - LEGENDARY 1955 SESSION

Improbable as it may sound, the sextet was one of the largest groups that Art Tatum ever worked with; it may even be the largest for Tatum, who worked for most of his life with no accompaniment at all, towards the end showed a marked preference for a trio, but rarely ever appeared as one of six. The reasons are easy enough to surmise. Tatum, being a colossus, needed as much room as possible in which to operate, and the more other soloists there were to take solo time and to demand of Tatum the duties of an accompanist, the more Tatum must have felt like a thoroughbred on a light rein. For Tatum, when he worked with other musicians, would sometimes temper his genius with a little tact, for the sake of the cohesion of the performance as well as in deference to the egos of the other musicians involved. Now the listener never cared anything for all this. Of the supporting musicians, the one with the longest list of battle honors was the founder of the vibes. Lionel Hampton, a musician who, having worked with both Armstrong and Tatum without exhibiting even a flicker of inhibition or loss of nerve, may therefore be said to have done and seen everything there was to do and see. Harry Edison, who plays trumpet with Tatum, spent many years in the Basie band, where he perfected a personal manner which consists of paring down the content of every solo to the practical minimum. The rhythm players include Barney Kessel, who was one of the very first musicians to become associated with "Jazz at the Philharmonic", and the Granz recording labels. The drummer, Buddy Rich, is in his own way as remarkable a technical wizard as Tatum himself, although on the Tatum sides the demand for wizardry was limited. Instead Rich laid down a strong, solid beat, assisted by the bass playing of Red Calendar. Essential Jazz Classics. 2007.

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