stride piano
A jazz piano style where the left hand alternates between bass notes and mid-range chords in a striding motion.
In Depth
Stride piano evolved from ragtime in the 1920s Harlem jazz scene. The left hand leaps between a bass note or octave on beats one and three and a chord on beats two and four, creating a self-contained [rhythm section](/term/rhythm%20section). The right hand plays melody and improvisation. James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, and Art Tatum were stride masters. The technique demands extraordinary left-hand independence and endurance, as the leaps cover a span of over an octave.
Art Tatum's stride technique was so formidable that when he walked into a club, other pianists would stop playing out of respect, knowing they could not compete.