Look Ma,Two Hands!

It's truly a sign of musical genius when an artist becomes so good at what they do that they simultaneously bring a genre of music to it's highest point and end it completely. Art Tatum, the famous stride piano player, was one of those artists. When Art was just a child he suffered from cataracts that left him blind in one eye and with limited vision from his other. To some this would be a stepping stone but with Art is ended up causing him to be one of the best piano players to ever sit on the bench. Some of the stride music that was being played as Art was coming up in the world was played by two people or "four handed". He would listen to these players and have no idea that it was actually two people playing. When he tried to learn those songs he was forced to become extremely quick and creative on the keys to be able to play the songs like the professionals he was listening to. His music was played so quickly and accurately that it mystified other piano players of the time and it seemed to them that he was "playing the impossible". He played stride piano so well and took the genre to such a high point that he actually ended the musical movement. Nobody else could even come close to playing the stuff he was laying down on a daily basis. It's amazing that the road we take to get to where we are going can effect the destination more than the skills we obtain before beginning that journey. Art Tatum is a perfect example of going at things from a different angle and getting different and better results.