art tatum and billie holiday

Art Tatum was a jazz pianist who was one of the best in his time. In his improvisations, Tatum spontaneously inserted entirely new chord progressions (sometimes with a new chord on each beat) into the small space of one or two measures. His reharmonization of pop tunes became a standard practice among modern jazz musicians, horn players, and pianists. I wanted to include one of the photos I took of a grand piano to show the intricate design of a piano. From above, you are able to see the strings and pieces that truly make a piano sound beautiful.

Billie Holiday, aka Lady Day, had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop singing due to her vocal style, which was strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists and created a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. As a young teenager, Holiday started singing in nightclubs in Harlem which led her to take over as the lead vocalist at a club on West 132nd Street in New York City. After her death, Holiday won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.