The Art Tatum Variation in Rachmaninoff's Paganini Rhapsody (ft. Jackie Parker) 

The former principal flute of the Pittsburgh symphony, Bernard Goldberg, told me he heard Art Tatum live once. In between sets, he was playing a prelude and fugue from Bachs Well Tempered Clavier but it was in thr wrong key! Bernie went up and asked about this. Tatum replied that he could play them in all the keys🤯🙏❤

What a great conversation. As a non-musician, it told me much how music is made....how pianists play and interact with an orchestra. Mr. Parker has a wonderful explanatory style!

Mr. Parker is so adorable person, love him very much! ♥️ Rachmaninoff is my all time favourite with the russian and american style combined

I just want to give a shout out to whomever is doing the video editing of this and other tonebase videos. The cuts between explanations and actual performance are very helpful in their own right and downright poetic.

Have always loved Art Tatum, and he always amazes people when I introduce them to him.

Always so much to discover in Rach's pieces.

This lesson helps me hear the music in this collection of notes. ✨

I love Parker's analyzation of the motive! Rachmaninoff was overlooked by the classical (atonal) elites for so many years. It is nice to see he is finally getting recognized for his fantastic compositional skills.

I came for the "Tatum" and stayed because of Parker's channeling Leonard Bernstein in his exposition. Great video. Glad I subscribed a few months ago.

This reminds me of another comment about Art Tatum, attributed to Fats Waller: "Ladies and gentlemen, God is in the house tonight. May I introduce Art Tatum."

Maurice Ravel was a fan of 1920s jazz too, you can sense it in his joyful, nostalgic piano concerto, written in the early 1930s.

This piece is absolute magic - I so admire all the performers doing their 'bit' - Rachmaninoff - blows the mind! Great Lesson Art Tatum - wonderful pianist.

I may be totally adrift on this, but watching that music performed on piano is 1000x better than just hearing it from disc or spotify.

He is a true Maestro. He is so clear on explaining nuances and performing. Wow.

Thank you for this. Rachmaninoff had been my father's favorite composer, and about 99 percent of the albums of my childhood were of classical music. The remaining one percent included "The Complete Art Tatum Piano Discoveries" from 1961. I had never connected the two, and never learned whether my father had (though I wouldn't be surprised if he did). Now, of course, it seems entirely obvious.

I am hearing this in a totally new dimension now thanks to this.

On the topic of jazz and Rachmaninoff. A famous local jazz band was playing in Royal York Imperial Room in Toronto. It does not get better than that. At the end of a set a gentleman walked to the band stand, took off hat and deeply bowed to the shocked and speechless band members. He then quickly left the room. The gentlemen was Rachmaninoff. The story was told by the band leader who added that he felt like never playing again, as he had reached the apex his talent allowed him. Vechnaya Pamyat! Memory Eternal!🎼

Genius also I need to listen to more Art Tatum!

Excellent Presentation. Parker's articulate prowess pianistically and verbally shines. So insightful. I'm in my 63rd year playing. 52 years professionally. Constantly learning still. That's the beauty of music. Kudos to all involved in putting this out.

The difference between 4:20 and Art Tatum is the fact that Art is separating each note like a string of pearls. By "detaching" each note/key he creates infinite headroom in tempo/speed never completely tapping that space between the notes. You hear each note starting and ending. Where others get into trouble is trying to do what Tatum did BUT by using even the slightest finger legato, defined by the overlapping of each note by holding the previous note down. NO, Tatum did not do this, listen at half speed and you will hear it. The mind appreciates the difference in technique as this alone enables relaxation and increases speed without tension. This also allows for a better swing, groove.

That was so well explained AND demonstrated. Jackie always had such powerful technique, even from a very young age. But here he demonstrates delicacy and such purity in the notes. Truly on another level.

I did a report many years ago about Tatum, which included his influence on Rach and this variation. Great vid.

Mr Parker's name wasn't new to this non-musician, but the video surprises me with his skill in both playing and teaching. We seem to be living in a golden age of pianists. (Khatia and Yuja especially.)

What a wonderful presentation!

I remember the first time I heard Art Tatum, in high school. I regret to say that it kind of discouraged me from pursuing jazz piano any further, cause I would never be that good. But I do still enjoy him and Oscar Peterson's music anyway

That humans can create and play at this level amazes me

The very moment I saw JKP play this chromatic passage with alternating inner and outer finger I immediately thought of the physiognomy behind it - and I was truly happy that he addressed this as "I need wrist rotation for this." The analogy to this passage, albeit in a monumentally larger scale, is Chopin Op.25 No.11 - and if you do this without wrist rotation, just with the fingers it will a) not be loud enough and b) your forearm, pinky and thumb muscles will hurt. I strongly recommend the specific section on wrist rotation in György Sandór's "On Piano Playing" book, which translates music written for piano into movements that uses a pianist's arm, wrist, fingers in the most efficient way to actually play it without tiring.

This was a beautiful lesson.

I've performed the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini many times since the age of 16. I'm 50 now - and variation 15 (I always called it the "jazz variation" is my FAVOURITE variation of the whole work - it is gorgeous!).

His remark at 2:55 to Tatum's closing on "Yesterdays"..."Classical pianists can't do that"...gave me a chuckle. That's similar to what everybody who saw Art Tatum in his hey day would say. Tatum's approach to jazz piano was so heavily influenced by the 19th century European piano virtuosos that it's sometimes difficult to conceive of Tatum as a "jazz" pianist at all. Of course, a musician of Tatum's remarkable musical imagination and incomparable mastery of the instrument would have died a slow death had he been restricted solely to the classical idiom. In fact, Tatum - like other musicians of the jazz form such as Ellington and even Miles Davis - did not like to be referred to as a "jazz" musician. The late great jazz educator and pianist, Barry Harris, always asserted that jazz is the American extension of the European classical idiom...that jazz musicians are indeed "classical" musicians. Tatum also always resisted hoping on the bandwagon of popular developments in jazz in his day...musical trends such as bebop. Instead, he brilliantly synthesized elements of the European classical idiom with those of American blues, ragtime-stride, and popular music of the "Great American Song Book." This (and his incomparable technique) made Tatum such an interesting, challenging and complex subject of study (technical study in particular). So it's no wonder he is iconic in the halls of conservatories around the world...more so than, say, a strictly bebop jazz great like Bud Powell.

Jon Kimura Parker is da man, at last a classical sheet music turbo pianist who is a MUSICIAN in his own right and the proper sense of the term, who can play by ear, go ad-lib off-road into jazz & improvisation. Cheers, great video.

Brilliant, thank you. As a TV composer for 35yrs, I was asked many times to reference this piece. This deep dive was invaluable.

Art Tatum is simply the greatest musician of all time"]

I've read elsewhere that Rachmaninoff had trouble with the ending of the 24th variation and worried about playing it correctly for the premiere. Benno Moiseiwitsch told him to have a drink before the played to steady his nerves. Rachmaninoff chose creme de menthe. The first performance went well, so Rachmaninoff continued the practice and referred to it as the creme de menthe variation. Outstanding presentation. It was nice to hear Parker play again. I had not heard of him for a while, but it seems that some really great pianists tire of traveling and performing and prefer academia. That's the path Ralph Votapek (winner of the first Van Cliburn) took. Look for some of his recent recordings - he's still a master.

I enjoyed this lesson and would welcome more like this. I didn't realise that Rach was fusing a bit of jazz with this, which makes him even more my favourite composer. So he was not old fashioned after all! Please provide more educational videos like this especially for Rach's 150th anniversary. Many thanks.

Keep these videos coming! Great work 👏🎶

Whether the quote about Art Tatum is factually attributed to Horowitz or Rachmaninoff is besides the point. It's true! Tatum was the real wonder of the 20th century

This was really pleasant! I clicked on it expecting to simply experience a performance but was fascinated by the educational journey on which it took me. Thank you!

Your videos are fun, informative, educational, and focus on things we really want to know as pianists. Fabulous! Thank you!

Fabulous production, content, and style. Thanks so much!

Wonderful commentary! Thank you for providing very practical performance insights. Also, always admire the musicianship and virtuosity of Art Tatum. Thanks for sharing the video of Mr. Tatum.

This was amazingly instructive and explanatory. Thank you very much, Mr. Parker.

Exceptional video, in so many ways. I've never heard of Mr. Parker, but, what a talent!!! Thanks to all who created this video. So moving.

Music and artistry like this makes me truly treasure life. No kidding. And I love this discussion and video. Thank you!

Well done tonebase this was an enjoyable look into this variation of Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody with Jackie Parker. keep up the great work kind regards Mr Worrell Robinson.

Rachmaninov is unreal genius.

Thank you so much for this! This is such exquisite learning! Such a privilege. So grateful..

Wow, What a lesson!! It’s a very clear conversation about musical and technical possibilities. Wonderful, bravo 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Fascinating! When I took classical piano lessons as a kid I had a natural predilection to syncopate what I was playing. My dad, a music major and amateur composer and my little brother with perfect pitch, gave me grief over this. This overlap and influence of classical and jazz on each other helps give me validation so many years later. Thanks.

Jon Kimura Parker - what a great teacher. I play guitar, have never attempted Rachmaninoff of any kind. I learned a lot :)

Thank you for this. Very insightful.

Thank you so much. How many of Art Tatum's contemporaries were aware that they were witnessing historical moments that humanity would remember for as long as humans have existed?

Brilliant analysis, fascinating. Thanks for posting. I'm a huge fan of both Rachmaninov and Art Tatum.

Thank you for all your insights!

Wonderfully illuminating! I enjoyed hearing him talk about his process.

I just had a marvelous lesson with a master! I am embarrassed by my ignorance of his name. But exhilarating it was-- humbly I thank him.

Amazing lesson. This is the difference between performances extraordinary and the ones that put you to sleep.

I can relate to the terror you feel the first time you perform this work. I was so afraid of Var 15 that I literally dreamt it the whole night before the performance. It was on continuous loop like a nightmare. It didn’t help that the conductor told me at the dress rehearsal that the last time he did it the pianist had a memory slip in that variation and it fell apart. Great!! I got through it OK, but it probably sounded like a frantic mess. After the first experience, I relaxed and it didn’t freak me out so much on subsequent performances. I have a feeling every pianist feels the same as I did the first time.

Fantastic! Thank you. LOVE Rachmaninoff

Mind-blowing. Thank you so much.

Thanks for doing this! Great analysis!

Rachmaninoff!

This is masterful analysis and performance! And having listened to Art Tatum’s recordings for probably 20 years now, I definitely, unequivocally, hear the influence. And Mr Tatum himself listed his two favorite pianists as Lee Sims and Fats Waller, so there might be a bit of them in there, plus everyone else he heard (since he had absolute pitch).

Great, educational presentation. The pianist instructor is amazingly gifted.

Best analysis of this amazing piece from a pianist who knows this piece from the inside. I remember Arthur Rubenstein's recording back in the 50's, but Jon Kimura's performance comes from a complete understanding of Rach's composition!!!

Wow, that was some clean video editing of a master pianist interpreting a master composer.

Love the ending...this perfect F Major Chord! Well done in the end! 13:24 Every time, it almost makes me cry...

I was initially expecting this video to talk about the "big jazz band" moment right after the explicit Dies irae quotation in Variation 10, but I wasn't disappointed. Awesome video, as always!

I was in heaven. Thank you from Russia!

man I love your channel

This video just popped up in my feed on RU-vid. I love it! The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is in my top 10 favorite pieces of music ever written, so I always love learning more about it. Sadly, I’ve never been able to play it. It’s simply beyond my skill level. I am a classical-music professional, but I studied mainly theory and voice, with just enough piano to get by. What hooked me immediately into this video was the beard, though. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m always smitten by a perfect beard. Ben’s is beautiful!

Really amazing and helpful. I’m working of this Variation now. So incredibly beautiful.

Marvellous playing!

Excellent as always. Thank you very much. 🙏❤️🌍🕊🎵🎶 Gould blew me away, also. Stravinsky!!! Bach, it always comes back to Bach. ❤️

Wonderful. Delightful. Insightful. Entertaining, and Inspiring. Jackie has such great economy of motion and elegant rapport with the instrument. I didn't know Rachmaninoff hung around NYC jazz venues in the 1930s and that he was as impressed with the artistry and technical facility of Art Tatum as I and so many others still are today. The World Wide Web was originally conceived so that people across the globe who desire high quality cultural content like this can experience it with a click of a mouse.

What an interesting, thoughtful commentary!

Wonderful video.Thank you.

Thanks for the update.

Really nice work!

Loved this!!!!

Thank you so much Mr. Parker. I feel like we just had a very interesting conversation!

I’ve loved this music from hearing for the first time. I never tire of it. It reinvigorates me mentally.

I thoroughly enjoyed that. Very neat.

Fascinating discussion, and great Yamaha CFX piano!

Art Tatum was born with an eye disease that blinded him for most of his life. I have a collections of his music and it is beyond amazing.

"then finally . . . . strum . . . ".! love this piece and wow he makes it all sound so effortless.

Jon Kimura Parker... Sorry I didn't hear about you before, you are a real discovery to me. Your approach in music, the philosophy which transcends your words is absolutely wonderful - and the sincerity of your plain arguments. Those students you teach are happy human beings, truly ! Keep on the good work, man!

This is wonderful!

Spectacularly lucid analysis.

I HAD NO IDEA RACHMONINOFF LOVED THE GIANT OF JAZZ.. ART TATUM!!! WOWWWWWEEE!! IT'S ALL INTERCONNECTED!! FASCINATING!! AS MR. SPOCK.. WOULD SAY!! YOUR A FANTASTIC PIANIST ALSO.. MR. PETERS!! PLAY ON!! BEAUTIFULLY!!! SUZZAN C WILSON❤❤❤💋

Thrilling! Thank you!

Great video!!

Rachmaninoff gets my vote as the greatest composer of the 20th century. There is something about most of his music that just seems to fit my brain patterns in a way that never loses its fascination. There are so many wonderful performances of his major (and minor) works it is hard for me to pick favorites. However he was not my favorite composer of symphonies for the 20th century. (my favorite is Shostakovich 5 and my favorite performance is Stokowski conducting the Stadium Symphony Orchestra on Everest which is actually the New York Philharmonic but Columbia Records had a contract where only their recordings could carry that name.) I can see the clear connection between the Rhapsody and the jazz of Art Tatum. Very interesting. I'd never known that before. Thanks. As for the orchestra and soloist being in sync I'm sure you know the famous story about Glenn Gould and Leonard Bernstein who disagreed on the tempo of a concert piece where they performed together. At the concert they started together and that was the last time they were, each going at his own pace never in sync right through all of it. Perhaps this is one of the reasons Gould preferred to make recordings instead of give live performances.

What a great masterclass!

Jon’s play here is brilliant.. and so musical.

Amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing! ❤❤❤

Ah, Larry, I miss him so much. He was an absolutely marvelous conductor to play under, I was happy to see the little tribute to him at the end of this. Parker’s manner here is excellent, he’s talking about things we all need to reflect on as a musician, playing notes simply as “fast” is a tendency in all of us we have to suppress. The poetry comes out when we finally acknowledge and follow the phrasing.

I've struggled with the 15th variation for years. This video really helped.

This interpretation, or should I call it portrayal, of Rachmaninoff’s composing in the solo sections is a revelation. It makes perfect sense of course despite our never hearing it that way in an orchestral performance, so much so I can’t unhear it ever. I’ll look forward to hearing Rachmaninoff in a new context after Jackie’s insight.

Super, fantastic musician!