Jazz Articles about Fats Waller

About Fats Waller

The Great American Songbook

The 1920s: Jazz Becomes America's Soundtrack

by Joan Merrill
April 2, 2026

With the end of both World War I and the deadly flu pandemic that killed untold millions of people, the United States welcomed the new decade with open arms and a sense of optimism. The 1920s were one of the most eventful periods in American history. The Prohibition Era, from 1920 to 1933, gave rise to gangster bootleggers like Al Capone running speakeasies. Women got the vote with the 19th Amendment in 1920 and were inspired to rebel ...

Radio & Podcasts

Striding Forward

by Patrick Burnette
October 7, 2021

Time, the bastards decided, for a historical podcast—and this time, the focus is on stride. Who started it? Who perfected it? Who blew it up? Who deconstructed it? Keep your left hand limber and the answers will follow. Pop matters includes a brief look at chanteuse of the day, Billie Eilish.Playlist Discussion of James P. Johnson's album The Original James P. Johnson 1942-1945 Piano Solos (Smithsonian Folkways) 3:25 Discussion of Fats Waller's album Complete Victor Piano Solos—Vol 1 ...

Radio & Podcasts

The Entertainers - Fats Waller (1929 - 1943)

by Russell Perry
March 12, 2019

By far the most commercially successful of the stride pianists, Fats Waller made his reputation (and his living) through comedy. “He wasn't witty, if that word is taken to imply a kind of humor too subtle to engender belly laughs—he was funny. He was also bigger than life, Rabelaisian in intake, energy, and output. His greatest joy was playing Bach on the organ, but he buttered his bread as a clown, complete with a mask as fixed as that of ...

Book Review

Fats Waller by Maurice Waller & Anthony Calabrese

by C. Michael Bailey
August 4, 2017

Fats Waller Maurice Waller and Anthony Calabrese 256 Pages ISBN: # 978-1-5179-0391-6 University of Minnesota Press2017/1977 With regards to the jazz piano, who came before Art Tatum, Bud Powell, and Bill Evans. Well, it was James P. Johnson, Willie The Lion" Smith and Thomas Fats Waller. The latter of these is celebrate with the republication of Maurice Waller and Anthony Calabrese's 1977 Fats Waller (Schirmer). A significant presence in the F. Scott Fitzgerald ...

My Blue Note Obsession

My Fats Waller Obsession: Why Do We Collect Music?

by Marc Davis
May 31, 2017

The collector pauses to reflect. As a young pianist back in high school in the 1970s, I fell into the theater crowd. We put on shows and we went to shows on Broadway. One of my favorites was Ain't Misbehain', the tribute to pianist-composer Fats Waller. I was enthralled. This was music with verve and personality, and it swung like crazy. I bought the soundtrack record and wore it out. I bought the music book and taught myself ...

Anatomy of a Standard

"Ain't Misbehavin'" by Fats Waller and Andy Razaf

by Tish Oney
December 28, 2016

Legendary pianist and songwriter, Thomas Wright Fats" Waller (1904-1943), contributed several outstanding gems to what we consider today to be the Great American Songbook. These standards include “Honeysuckle Rose" and “Ain't Misbehavin'" (both from 1929), among others. Waller's all-too-brief career reflected the impressive output of a first-rate musician, and showed him to be a talented radio personality, prolific recording artist, and beloved performer both on live stages and in film. Well-versed in the stride piano style, thanks to his early ...

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Album Review

Fats Waller: Fats Waller on the Air 1938 Broadcasts

Read "Fats Waller on the Air 1938 Broadcasts" reviewed by Ken Dryden

by Ken Dryden
April 7, 2010

Fats Waller was one of the top Harlem stride pianists as well as a prolific composer. Waller discographer Stephen Taylor uncovered 15 unreleased tracks in his quest to remaster several of Waller's 1938 broadcasts for this compilation. Three separate broadcasts are heard in complete form. The first is a studio session featuring Fats Waller and His Rhythm. Even without an audience, Waller acts as if he is in a nightclub, with his customary ad lib commentary. Unlike ...