"One of the first times I met Art Tatum was at a jam session at the Village Vanguard in 1941. A couple of young guys and myself, we were jamming, and finally Harry Lim, who was running the session, came over and said to quit. Art and Roy Eldridge had arrived. I started packing my horn, but Roy came up and said, 'Don't mind that Javanese jibe blah-blah bad words.'
Art was sitting at the piano, and he said in a voice of real concern, 'Oh no, Tony, come and play with us.'
I was shaking in my shoes, man, I was 21 years old. He said, 'What do you wanna play?' I said, 'Anything, Art.' He said, 'No, you choose.' I was pinned down. I said Tea for Two?, 'What tempo?' ' Any tempo, Art.' I was trying to get out of it, you know. He put his hands down on the piano, sounded like four hands, BRRIIPPPP... I took two choruses and stopped, and Art stopped playing and applauded for me."
©Tony Scott