Art Tatum – Piano Starts Here / Live at The Shrine (Zenph Re-performance) (2008) [SACD / Sony Classical – 88697-22218-2]
Title: Art Tatum – Piano Starts Here / Live at The Shrine (Zenph Re-performance) (2008)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Art Tatum, a pianist of unmatched technical mastery, shines in Piano Starts Here, a definitive album combining four 1933 solo studio recordings, including “Tea for Two” and “Tiger Rag,” with a 1949 live concert at the Shrine Auditorium, previously marred by slow pitch, awkward edits to the Gershwin medley, and reordered tracks. Zenph Studios used 21st-century technology to recreate these performances, correcting speed, restoring the full Gershwin medley (with “Summertime” and more, thanks to discographer Arnold Laubich), and replicating Tatum’s key and pedal work via MIDI on a Yamaha Disklavier Pro, recorded in stereo and binaural formats at the exact Shrine stage spot. The 1949 concert dazzles with a playful “Humoresque,” a rollicking “Tatum Pole Boogie,” a complete “Gershwin Medley,” and uptempo gems like “How High the Moon” and a bluesy “Willow Weep for Me,” all boasting vastly improved fidelity. Offered in stereo surround for ideal sound and binaural stereo for an intimate, pianist’s-ear perspective (with audible applause and air conditioning), this controversial yet marvelous re-performance enhances, but doesn’t replace, the original, giving jazz fans a clearer sense of Tatum’s genius on a top-notch instrument.