A Handful of Fats: Original 1929-1942 Recordings

A Handful of Fats: Original 1929-1942 Recordings Artist: Fats Waller
Label: Naxos
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 636943276020
EAN: 0636943276020
ASIN: B0001N9ZBQ


Release Date: 2004-05-18

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Tracks:

  1. Handful of Keys - Fats Waller
  2. Ain't Misbehavin' - Fats Waller
  3. I'm Crazy About My Baby - Fats Waller
  4. Viper's Drag - Fats Waller
  5. Twelfth Street Rag - Fats Waller & His Rhythm
  6. Keepin' Out of Mischief Now - Fats Waller
  7. Tea for Two - Fats Waller
  8. Joint Is Jumpin' - Fats Waller & His Rhythm
  9. Two Sleepy People - Fats Waller & His Rhythm
  10. Hold Tight (Want Some Seafood Mama) - Fats Waller & His Rhythm
  11. Honey Hush - Fats Waller & His Rhythm
  12. Your Feet's Too Big - Fats Waller & His Rhythm
  13. Squeeze Me - Fats Waller & His Rhythm
  14. Darktown Strutters' Ball - Fats Waller & His Rhythm
  15. Honeysuckle Rose - Fats Waller
  16. Georgia on My Mind - Fats Waller
  17. Rockin' Chair - Fats Waller
  18. Carolina Shout - Fats Waller
  19. Jitterbug Waltz - Fats Waller His Rhythm & His Orchestra
  20. Come and Get It - Fats Waller His Rhythm & His Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Five Fats Wallers in One .......2004-10-10

I took a bit of a risk when I bought this. I heard Fats perform Ain't Misbehavin' on the radio and knew that I had to have it. Familiar with his name but not with his music, I came with an open mind. Boy, was my mind blown wide open. Twenty tracks and nineteen of them bewitching.

There are basically five Fats Wallers. There is the distinguished composer; the brilliant pianist; the great bandleader; the endearing singer, and the incomparable interpreter of the popular song. In each of these five categories, he excels. Just listen to his solo version of Tea for Two, or his own composition, Viper's Drag, and you realise that he ranks alongside jazz music's greatest piano players, from Eubie Blake to Thelonious Monk. I hung on to every note. The man had magic in his fingers.

The songs are divided between his solo work and his own band, Fats Waller & his Rhythm, a two-horn sextet. The sextet is excellent. They could swing with the best of them and the solos are lovely. Check out Herman Autrey's lengthy trumpet solo (beautifully underpinned by Fats' own tinkling of the ivories) that introduces Hoagy Carmichael's, Two Sleepy People. Like all great band leaders, - Morton, Ellington, Mingus - he had a keen ear for talented musicians and by creating the right musical setting, brought out their full potential. What's the betting musicians that played with Fats never again achieved the heights that they achieved with him?

His writing was excellent, too, and he excelled both in the field of popular song, such as I'm Crazy About My Baby, and in jazz composition, such as Handful of Keys.

His voice and phrasing was attractive and perfectly suited to humorous songs, and Fats was a great humorist, the Ian Dury of his day. He could also add real poignancy to bitter sweet love songs. I doubt if Hoagy Carmichael's Two Sleepy People has ever been sung with quite such easy-going sincerity.

So there you have it: five good reasons for purchasing this CD. The one track I didn't like? - The Jitterbug Waltz. Fats' Hammond organ playing failed to float my boat, I'm afraid.

A word on the packaging. Excellent. The sleeve notes by Scott Yanow are concise but informative. [The curse of jazz fans, along with Ornette Coleman, is windy sleeve notes that say nothing in particular.] The informative listing and track information is neatly laid out and easy on the eye. Also, the font is large enough so you don't need binoculars to read the words. Even the cover is tastefully done. Naxos deserve full credit for this CD.

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