“God is in the House”

English edition / The underlying German edition was published by Lehmstedt Verlag.

"The late Fats Waller, no insignificant keyboard genius himself, interrupted a show one night at the Greenwich Village Inn in New York to dramatically announce in the presence of his friend, 'I play the piano - but God is in the house.'"
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1947)

Since his first appearance in New York City in 1932, Art Tatum has been regarded as the most important pianist in jazz history. His technique took the breath away even from concert pianists of the caliber of Horowitz, his touch was of incomparable lightness and elegance, and his improvisations across the entire harmonic spectrum put him decades ahead of his time.

For the first time, this book reconstructs in detail the often blurred traces in the life of the African-American piano virtuoso from Toledo, Ohio. Based on the stories of numerous contemporaries and fellow musicians as well as countless reports from the daily press and jazz publications, a fascinating portrait of a unique artist and the vibrant jazz world of his time emerges.

"Art Tatum showed what it's like to live in a world where all doors are open."
(Tom Piazza, 1996)

"Perhaps in 300 years the Encyclopedia Britannica will say: 'Jazz music - a limited musical form in which the work of Art Tatum serves as an example of what was possible within that form'."
(Barney Kessel, 1961)

"As a sourcebook on Tatum, this volume is invaluable and will likely remain unsurpassed."
(Francesco Martinelli, The New York City Jazz Record, November 2024)

Mark Lehmstedt (*1961) is a German publisher, editor and historian. His publishing house Lehmstedt Verlag, which specializes in cultural history, was named Best German Publisher in 2019 and 2020. Lehmstedt teaches media history at the University of Leipzig, specializing in German book history from the 15th century to the present day. In 2009, he published the first biography of the pianist in German to mark Art Tatum's 100th birthday.

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