Listening to Art Tatum Play Piano
In this piece Tatum doesn’t show off. The right hand skips up the stairs while the left shifts from foot to foot, calling out as if unsure whether to follow or turn back. The dialogue is as improbable and baroque as a Hollywood romance between a street kid and sophisticate. We know it won’t work. It is only in the script, but somehow they have found each other, and we do see the angle of the cheekbone and the way the eyes do hurt. It doesn’t matter it didn’t happen. They are on the steps. They have reached the landing, an almost alcove. They are beyond the camera. His hands rest on the keys.