Kizzy Waller

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. ~ AllMusic

Fats Waller seems never to have suffered from seasickness. Every photograph and eyewitness account of his transatlantic nautical adventures indicates a strong constitution, unfazed by rough seas even if the rest of the passengers were hanging over the rails. When Waller invaded London in August 1938, a team of Anglo and European musicians were assigned the task of accompanying him through the grooves of six phonograph recordings. Known for the rest of time as "Fats Waller & His Continental Rhythm," this band hammered out one amazing performance after the next. "Don't Try Your Jive on Me" and "Ain't Misbehavin'" both feature the organ, cool at first but gradually gathering steam and finishing grandly with horns in the air. "Music, Maestro Please" is late-'30s sentimentality at its finest, with tinkling celeste and even a bit of romantic violin…

Fats Waller - The 1935 Transcriptions (2001) {Naxos 8.120577}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 113 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 143 Mb
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© 1935, 2001 Naxos Jazz Legends | 8.120577
Jazz / Early Jazz / Jive / Stride / Swing / Piano

One fine day, Fats Waller ambled into a New York studio and knocked out a stack of a dozen 16" transcription discs for Muzak-Associated Transcriptions. (Can you imagine anyone pulling that off so casually today in the span of a few hours?) The transcriptions are mostly medleys of many of Waller's tunes and cover versions that he was recording for Victor, interspersed with the fat man's inimitable comments and verbal mugging. While Rudy Powell turns up on clarinet on the first medley and on alto sax on the second, Waller goes it alone everywhere else, turning out seemingly perfect takes every time.

Jimmy Smith, who re-defined jazz organ in the 1950's and 1960's, never recorded a bad album (although he did record some mediocre ones after 1970). This album will please many Smith fans for its selection of classic tunes and disappoint some Waller enthusiasts. ~ Amazon