Art Tatum is Front Man in New
Big Band Album "Act Your Age"
Zenph Studios collaborates with
Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
Hear a Clip Now
Album gets 3 GRAMMY Nominations!
Pianist Art Tatum was once described as
"the greatest soloist in jazz history, regardless of instrument."
He passed away in 1956.
Now, imagine being able to collaborate with Tatum today,
to have him as the front man for your big band in new arrangements
and recordings.
This was the dream of bandleader Gordon Goodwin,
realized with his big band in their new album,
"Act Your Age,"
now in stores.
Art Tatum was recorded anew as part of Gordon's arrangement of
the song
"Yesterdays,"
using techniques developed by
Zenph Studios.
Our unique process turns audio recordings into virtual musicians,
whose
re-performances®
precisely replicate how they played in
the original recording.
We capture the musical nuances of the original recording,
with details about the pedal actions, volume, and articulations
down to micro-second timings.
This new data is played back on a state-of-the-art
robotically-outfitted concert grand piano.
In September 2007, Jon Healey wrote in an editorial in the
Los Angeles Times,
"because of Zenph, we have a lot more useful knowledge about how
Art Tatum played the piano - knowledge that could conceivably
lead to a panoply of new creative works."
Little did he realize how prophetic these words would become.
The song "Yesterdays" was first performed by Tatum at a live concert
in Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium in 1949.
Sony BMG and Zenph Studios went back to The Shrine last year
and re-recorded Tatum's playing.
Our producer, Steve Epstein, and recording engineer,
Richard King,
placed our Yamaha Disklavier Pro concert grand piano on the
same stage in the same spot that Tatum played, and recorded a
re-performance on modern equipment before a live audience.
Gordon Goodwin hosted this 2007 live concert,
and was inspired to write a new arrangement for his
Big Phat Band
with Art Tatum front and center.
Meanwhile, Sony BMG's new solo album of Tatum was
released in June 2008,
and has been enthusiastically received by the critics.
"This is a crucially important release in musical history,"
said
Stereophile
magazine.
JazzReview.com
observed
"If you buy only one solo jazz piano recording this (or any) year,
make it
Piano Starts Here."
Tom Gibbs, in
Positive Feedback Online,
thought it was
"nothing short of magnificent."
"It's a really uncanny visceral sense that you are right there,"
raved John Sunier in
Audiophile Audition.
Gary Giddins, in
JazzTimes,
wrote "it blew my socks off."
About Gordon Goodwin:
Having won a 2006 GRAMMY award for his instrumental
arrangement of
"The Incredits"
from the Pixar film
The Incredibles,
as well as three Emmy Awards and five GRAMMY nominations,
you would think that Goodwin had fulfilled his dreams and
achieved all of his goals.
Not by a long shot.
He has yet another channel for success,
as leader of L.A.'s most exciting 18-piece big band jazz ensemble,
Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band.
Established in 2000, the
Big Phat Band
has quickly
become one of the most hard-swinging large jazz ensembles,
comprising L.A.'s finest musicians.
It celebrates and
personifies the best of the big band tradition with a
contemporary and original sound.
Gordon's witty and insightful arrangements propel the listener
on a journey through a myriad of styles:
blues, swing, classical, hard-hitting jazz,
and even an homage to Looney Tunes.
In addition to Art Tatum, "Act Your Age" features Patti Austin,
Chick Corea, Dave Gruisin, and Lee Ritenour.
For more information about Gordon Goodwin and the
Big Phat Band
on Immergent Records,
visit
www.bigphatband.com.
