Kawai America celebrates Black History Month by remembering Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines, Art Tatum, and Erroll Garner.
Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines was one of the most influential pianists of the jazz era. His music inspired many other jazz pianists such as Bud Powell, Erroll Garner, Art Tatum, and Herbie Hancock. Count Basie called Hines the greatest piano player in the world.
Born in 1903 into a musical family, Hines left home at the age of 17 to perform in a well-known Pittsburgh band. Led by Lois Deppe, a baritone, Hines often accompanied Deppe on trips to perform in New York. In 1921, Deppe and Hines were the first Black performers to ever play on the radio.
Hines’ prowess at the piano-led him to play with many of the jazz greats of the ’30s and 40’s such as Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie.
Arthur Tatum grew up in a musical family and started playing piano at the age of three, picking out hymns by ear. In spite of cataracts that affected his vision, his musical skills quickly grew. Although Art Tatum had classical piano lessons in school, he was heavily influenced by the music of James P. Johnson, Fat’s Waller, and Earl Hines. While still in his teens, Tatum had a radio show in Toledo which was broadcast nationwide in the late 1920s. He was also honing his skills in nightclubs during this time and as his prowess at the piano became well known, other musicians such as Duke Ellington, Joe Turner, and Louis Armstrong stopped in to hear the virtuoso. Tatum eventually went to New York where he was heard for the first time on a recording in 1932 with vocalist Adelaide Hall. In the 1930s Tatum made recordings in between engagements in Cleveland, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. In 1938 he traveled to England to perform, and his popularity grew on both sides of the Atlantic from then on. Recording and performing all through the 1940s and ’50s until his death in 1956, Tatum is still regarded as one of the most influential jazz pianists of all time. He was posthumously awarded a Grammy in 1974 for best jazz performance by a soloist and later awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989.
Erroll Garner is probably best known for writing the great standard, “Misty”. Born in Pittsburgh in 1921, Garner began playing piano at the age of three. Despite taking piano lessons, he never learned to read music. He appeared on local radio as a child, and by age 11 was playing the piano on Allegheny River boats. Garner developed a distinct style all his own even though he was influenced early on by the music of Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, and Earl Hines. His 1955 album, “Concert By The Sea” sold over a million copies and solidified Garner’s place in the history books of jazz pianists. Erroll Garner was one of the most televised jazz artists of his time, appearing on Ed Sullivan, Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, and more. Garner has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is considered one of the all-time greats of jazz. He died in 1977 at the age of 55.