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Art Tatum: Come Rain Or Come Shine

Rating: 80/100 (learn more)

“Come Rain Or Come Shine” was not a regular part of Art Tatum’s considerable repertoire. There were only 3 private recordings of it prior to this studio version, and even though this would be his last recording of the song, Tatum seems uncharacteristically unsure of himself through most of the performance. There are wrong notes here and there, and Tatum’s trademark runs seem to appear as filler instead of confident musical commentary. Tatum’s harmonic vocabulary was very deep and dissonant by this point in his career, and what starts as occasional hints of that tonal richness in the first two choruses comes to the fore in Tatum’s final chorus. Here, he seems to feel like himself at last, and he takes control of the song, making dramatic changes to the harmony and forcefully stating the melody. Perhaps producer Norman Granz should have sensed the shift from hesitancy to confidence, and asked for a second take. However, the discographies show that this was the 20th song recorded on a one-day 35-song session(!) and Granz’ apparent desire for quantity rather than quality seemed to override the obvious need for a second take.

Reviewer: Thomas Cunniffe

Tags: 1950s jazz · come rain or come shine · harold arlen covers · piano