Jazz Articles about Fats Waller

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Fats Waller: If You Got To Ask, You Ain't Got It!

by Jim Santella
September 29, 2006

Fats Waller If You Got To Ask, You Ain't Got It! Bluebird Jazz 2006

His career was short, but he left behind the kind of memories that will never fade. Fats Waller had it all: personality, keyboard talent, musical ear, and an intuitive feel for communicating with an audience. He was funny. He was unique. And yet, he was musically superior.

Waller died of pneumonia in 1943 at the age of 39. ...

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Fats Waller: If You Got To Ask, You Ain't Got It!

by David Rickert
September 26, 2006

Fats Waller If You Got To Ask, You Ain't Got It! Bluebird Jazz 2006

The first thing that strikes you about Fats Waller's music is how much fun it is. Today we recognize Waller as one of the first geniuses of jazz, both as a composer and as a musician, but jazz is serious business now and it's hard to imagine a guy like Waller doing his thing today.

This is probably why Waller ...

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Fats Waller

by Tim Kirker
September 21, 2005

1904-1943Fats Waller's jazz legacy is an unlikely combination of pianist, composer, singer, and comedian. Sometimes referred to as “the greatest comedian who ever played jazz, Fats' appeal was as much visual as it was musical. From his physical presence (he had a huge girth and wore a size 15 shoe) and wildly arched eyebrows to his appetite for life and boisterous showmanship, Fats was an irresistible performer. Foremost, he was a master of stride piano playing. His recordings ...

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Fats Waller: The Centennial Collection

by Mark Corroto
June 3, 2004

The centennial of Thomas “Fats" Waller’s birth is yet another good reason to release another collection of his recordings. This one is a nice accumulation of songs (don’t know why “Jitterbug Waltz” is missing), enough to whet newcomers' appetites. Plus, this disc includes a bonus DVD of footage from King of Burlesque and an animated version of “Your Feets Too Big.” The “music video" shows Waller as a jester and entertainer, mugging for the camera. I’ll leave the cultural criticism ...

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Fats Waller: The 1935 Transcriptions

by C. Michael Bailey
April 12, 2002

Ain't Misbehavin'...

Born in Waverley, New York in 1904, raised in Harlem, and schooled by his mother, James P. Johnson, Karl Bohm, and Leopold Godowsky, Thomas “Fats" Waller would have been a giant in American music history without his happy gargantuan personality. A personality, in fact, so big, that his showmanship has often overshadowed his considerable pianistic talent and technique. I admit, it is hard to watch Stormy Weather and see Waller mugging and singing “Ain't Misbehavin'" and take him ...