October 13th: Today In Music History

Jazz pianist Art Tatum (1909-1956) was said to be so good that even such classical virtuosos as Vladimir Horowitz and Sergei Rachmaninoff came to see him play. Born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1909, Tatum, though legally blind and largely self-taught, became known as one of the all-time great jazz piano soloists of any era. Here he plays one of his signature tunes, “Tea for Two” (three versions; 1933, 1939, 1953). Bonus clips: Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” and “Art’s Blues” from the 1947 film “Fabulous Dorseys.”