Fats Waller
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Biography
[Edit]Not only was Fats Waller one of the greatest pianists jazz has ever known, he was also one of its most exuberantly funny entertainers — and as so often happens, one facet tends to obscure the other. His extraordinarily light and flexible touch belied his ample physical girth; he could swing as hard as any pianist alive or dead in his classic James P. Johnson-derived stride manner, with a powerful left hand delivering the octaves and tenths in a tireless, rapid, seamless stream. Waller also pioneered the use of the pipe organ and Hammond organ in jazz — he called the pipe organ the "God box" — adapting his irresistible sense of swing to the pedals and a staccato right hand while making imaginative changes of the registration. As a composer and improviser, his melodic invention rarely flagged, and he contributed fistfuls of joyous yet paradoxically winsome songs like "Honeysuckle Rose," "Ain't Misbehavin,'" "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now," "Blue Turning Grey Over You" and the extraordinary "Jitterbug Waltz" to the jazz repertoire.
During his lifetime and afterwards, though, Fats Waller was best known to the world for his outsized comic personality and sly vocals, where he would send up trashy tunes that Victor Records made him record with his nifty combo, Fats Waller & His Rhythm. Yet on virtually any of his records, whether the song is an evergreen standard or the most trite bit of doggerel that a Tin Pan Alley hack could serve up, you will hear a winning combination of good knockabout humor, foot-tapping rhythm and fantastic piano playing. Today, almost all of Fats Waller's studio recordings can be found on RCA's on-again-off-again series The Complete Fats Waller, which commenced on LPs in 1975 and was still in progress during the 1990s.
Thomas "Fats" Waller came from a Harlem household where his father was a Baptist lay preacher and his mother played piano and organ. Waller took up the piano at age six, playing in a school orchestra led by Edgar Sampson (of Chick Webb fame). After his mother died when he was 14, Waller moved into the home of pianist Russell Brooks, where he met and studied with James P. Johnson. Later, Waller also received classical lessons from Carl Bohm and the famous pianist Leopold Godowsky. After making his first record at age 18 for Okeh in 1922, "Birmingham Blues"/"'Muscle Shoals Blues,"" he backed various blues singers and worked as house pianist and organist at rent parties and in movie theaters and clubs. He began to attract attention as a composer during the early- and mid-'20s, forming a most fruitful alliance with lyricist Andy Razaf that resulted in three Broadway shows in the late '20s, Keep Shufflin', Load of Coal, and Hot Chocolates.
Waller started making records for Victor in 1926; his most significant early records for that label were a series of brilliant 1929 solo piano sides of his own compositions like "Handful of Keys" and "Smashing Thirds." After finally signing an exclusive Victor contract in 1934, he began the long-running, prolific series of records with His Rhythm, which won him great fame and produced several hits, including "Your Feet's Too Big," "The Joint Is Jumpin'" and "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter." He began to appear in films like Hooray for Love and King of Burlesque in 1935 while continuing regular appearances on radio that dated back to 1923. He toured Europe in 1938, made organ recordings in London for HMV, and appeared on one of the first television broadcasts. He returned to London the following spring to record his most extensive composition, "London Suite" for piano and percussion, and embark on an extensive continental tour (which, alas, was canceled by fears of impending war with Germany). Well aware of the popularity of big bands in the '30s, Waller tried to form his own, but they were short-lived.
Into the 1940s, Waller's touring schedule of the U.S. escalated, he contributed music to another musical, Early to Bed, the film appearances kept coming (including a memorable stretch of Stormy Weather where he led an all-star band that included Benny Carter, Slam Stewart and Zutty Singleton), the recordings continued to flow, and he continued to eat and drink in extremely heavy quantities. Years of draining alimony squabbles, plus overindulgence and, no doubt, frustration over not being taken more seriously as an artist, began to wear the pianist down. Finally, after becoming ill during a gig at the Zanzibar Room in Hollywood in December, 1943, Waller boarded the Santa Fe Chief train for the long trip back to New York. He never made it, dying of pneumonia aboard the train during a stop at Union Station in Kansas City.
While every clown longs to play Hamlet as per the cliche — and Waller did have so-called serious musical pretensions, longing to follow in George Gershwin's footsteps and compose concert music — it probably was not in the cards anyway due to the racial barriers of the first half of the 20th century. Besides, given the fact that Waller influenced a long line of pianists of and after his time, including Count Basie (who studied with Fats), Teddy Wilson, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck and countless others, his impact has been truly profound. ~ Richard S. Ginell, Rovi
Title: A New Kind of Man With a New Kind of Love for Me (Remastered) - Single
Artist: Fats Waller
Genre: Pop
Title: Fats Waller 1940-1941 (Volume 6 Of The Complete Recorded Works)
Artist: Fats Waller
Genre: Blues
Title: Fats Waller Loose Ends (Volume 6 Of The Complete Recorded Works)
Artist: Fats Waller
Genre: Blues
Title: The Complete Recorded Works, Volume 2: A Handful Of Keys (CD4)
Artist: Fats Waller
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Complete Tomas Fats Waller and His Rhythm 1934 - 1943, Vol.1
Artist: Fats Waller
Genre: Jazz
Collections
Title: Swing & Jazz Essentials
Genre: Jazz
Title: 50 Traditional Jazz Standards, Vol. 1
Genre: Jazz
Title: Behind the Legend of Boogie Woogie Classics, Vol. 2
Genre: Jazz
Title: New York - City of Jazz Vol. 2
Genre: Jazz
Title: Don't Worry Be Happy, Vol.2
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Jazz Bar Vol. 5
Title: 100 Jazz Grand Reserve
Genre: Jazz
Title: Gershwin - The Genius Collection
Genre: World Music
Title: The Ultimate 30's and 40's Reefer Songs
Genre: Alternative
Title: Reefer Madness
Genre:
Title: The Ultimate Best of the Blues Collection
Genre: Blues
Title: The Story of Boogie Woogie
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Story Of Boogie Woogie
Genre: Jazz
Title: Christmas Through the Ages
Genre:
Title: The Best of Jazz
Genre: Jazz, Instrumental, Instrumental
Title: Blues, Blues Christmas, Vol. 2
Genre: Blues, Traditional Pop Music
Title: The Jazzman
Genre: Jazz
Title: Balboa Swing, Vol. 3 (DJ Wuthe am Grammophon)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Vintage Devil Songs
Genre: Blues
Title: Digital Classics 5 (Remastered)
Genre: Jazz
Title: A Retrospective Hits of 1938
Genre: Pop
Title: Best Of The Piano
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Best of Jazz Piano and Trumpet
Genre: Jazz
Title: Christmas Big Band & Swing Hits
Genre: Traditional Pop Music
Title: Jazz & Blues Piano Classics
Genre: Jazz
Title: Laugh and Call It Love
Genre: Jazz
Title: Balboa Swing, Vol. 1 (DJ Wuthe am Grammophon)
Genre: Jazz
Title: 100 Vocal & Jazz Classics - Vol. 1 (1921-1927)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz from the 40th
Genre: Jazz
Title: Roads of Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: The 50 Best Swing Songs Ever
Genre: Jazz
Title: 100 Vocal & Jazz Classics - Vol. 2 (1928-1931)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Music Inspired By the Great Gatsby
Genre: Jazz
Title: 101 - The Best of Big Band
Genre: Electronica, Dancefloor, Dance Pop
Title: Swing Cafe
Title: Vintage Songs, Cocktail Parties
Genre: Jazz
Title: Classic Christmas Party
Genre: New Age
Title: A Retrospective Hits of 1936
Genre: Pop
Title: 108 Songs Vintage Music Jukebox
Genre: Pop
Title: Honky Tonk Piano Favorites
Genre: Country
Title: Burlesque In Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Anthology of British Vintage Jazz, Volume 3
Genre: Jazz, World Music
Title: In the Mood: The Romance of Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Commodore Story
Genre: Jazz
Title: Kings of Swing - the Platinum Collection
Genre:
Title: Jazz Signatures
Genre: Jazz
Title: Dixieland Music
Genre: Jazz
Title: Swinging Christmas, Vol. 2
Genre: Jazz, Traditional Pop Music
Title: Greatest Hits Series: Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Swinging Groups of the 30's, Vol. 1
Genre:
Title: A Piano Anthology - From Jelly Roll Morton to Bill Evans
Genre: Jazz
Title: 100 Jazz Classics Of The '20s & '30s
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Vocalists
Genre: Jazz, Vocal Jazz
Title: Swing Blues and Jazz, Vol. 04
Genre: Pop
Title: 1935 in Music, Vol. 2
Title: Oldies But Goodies - Novelty Hits
Genre: Pop
Featuring albums
Title: DJ Yoda's How to Cut and Paste: The Thirties Edition
Artist: DJ Yoda
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rap, Jazz, Rock, New Wave, Dancefloor, Pop, Dance Pop, Alternative
Title: The Definitive Blues Collection, Vol. 4
Artist: Various Blues Artists
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues
Title: 22 Great American Classics
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack, Vocal & Symphonic
Title: Reefer Blues: Vintage Songs About Marijuana Volume 2
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Blues, Jazz, Vocal Jazz, Acoustic
Title: The Ultimate 30's & 40's Reefer Songs
Artist: Various Artists
Title: How To Cut and Paste- The Thirties Edition
Artist: DJ Yoda
Genre: Electronica, Hip Hop/R&B, Rap, Dancefloor
Title: Stormy Weather. Cabin in the Sky. Great Black Soundtracks
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Jazz
Title: Saga Jazz: Jazz & Humour (Une Petite Laitue. Avec De La Mayonnaise)
Artist: The Jazz
Genre: Jazz, Vocal Jazz
Title: Swing for Dancers - Medium Tempo (DJ Wuthe am Grammophon)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Jazz