Mo, few of us are blessed with Art Tatums natural gifts. However, I do agree with you on this statement....

"Practice is necessary, but it gets more results for some than others..some need only to practice early in their careers, some need only to practice short periods, and some practice endlessly and never really become great"

In fact, that's a very astute observation. As for myself, I play several hours each day but I would hardly call it disciplined practice. Probably more beneficial to things like muscle memory, etc. than anything else. Yeah, I guess (as someone pointed out) I should practice (no pun intended) what I preach. I'll start next Monday.

chas