Definitive - His Rhythm His Piano

Fats Waller | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 16, 1996)
• Original Release Date: 1999
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Jazz Classics
• ASIN: B000001LYU
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #465,466 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Baby Brown

2. The Viper's Drag

3. How Can You Face Me

4. Down Home Blues

5. Dinah

6. Handful Of Keys

7. Solitude

8. The Moon Is Low #1

9. The Moon Is Low #2

10. The Sheik Of Araby

See all 30 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby

2. Tea For Two

3. Believe It, Beloved

4. Sweet Sue, Just You

5. Somebody Stole My Gal

6. Honeysuckle Rose

7. Night Wind

8. African Ripples

9. Because Of Once Upon A Time

10. Where Were You On The Night Of June The Third?

See all 31 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive Fats, March 31, 2001

By 

B. D. Tutt (London, UK.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Definitive - His Rhythm His Piano (Audio CD)

For once the title of the CD is not hype - this IS definitive Fats Waller.

These two discs are made up primarily of the recordings from two mammoth sessions in 1934 and 1939 which Waller undertook to produce a set of discs on mini-radio programmes which stations could use to fill up the time.

The 1934 Associated Session is split between discs one (tracks one to seven) and disc two (tracks one to twenty four) and finds Waller at the peak of his powers. Four of the disc one tracks feature Waller with clarinetist Rudy Powell, but the rest of the session is solo Waller, piano and voice. He runs effortlesly through his greatest hits plus some popular songs of the day. Generally he sings in a more restrained way than on many of the Rhythm sides, although "Where Were You on the Night of June 3rd?" is a wonderful comic song. Waller's piano playing is magnificent throughout, if not up to the standard of his teacher, James P. Johnson. Hughes Pannasie felt that these were the only Waller recordings which resembled Fats live.

The 1939 tracks feature Waller and his Rhythm (disc one, tracks 8 - 25), in excellent sound quality, and provide an interesting contrast with performances of the same pieces for RCA. Tracks 26 - 30 are solos, with Walller sounding a little worse for wear at points.

Disc two is topped up with a number of miscellaneous Waller radio broadcasts: two ebullient tracks from Bluefield Virginia, two restrained tracks from London and a breakneck "Hallalujah" from the George Jessel show.

The 1939 tracks are fine, and solo Waller is always worth hearing. What makes this disc an essential purchase for fans of Waller & stride piano is the 1934 tracks: these 31 pieces show Waller at his finest. This IS, in fact, the definitive Waller.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Definative, but a Delight none-the-less., February 23, 2001

By 

Tom (Palatine, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Definitive - His Rhythm His Piano (Audio CD)

Two great discs, wonderfully remastered for CD.

If I have read the liner notes correctly, the first disc is a collection of Fats brilliant radio work, nicely demonstrating his awesome talent to fill air time between shows. Apparently, Fats could be told (live!) that he has 2:03 to fill, and would do just that precisely...and entertainingly.

There seems to be no genre of music existant at that time that Fats could not roll comfortably into.

This is a charming and addictive collection of music from one of the first true piano entertainers.

Other discs, such as "Let's Pretend There's a Moon" are probably more "definative" or at least represenative of Fats' typical work, but this disc is so much fun anyone who loves great piano would enjoy it.

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST MUZAK EVER WRITTEN, January 5, 2006

By 

Nancy Beiman "Northernexpress" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Definitive - His Rhythm His Piano (Audio CD)

This collection was created for the Muzak corporation when it began. Muzak was originally designed to play on radio when a station lost its signal. What luck that they got Fats Waller to do the first tracks! His jaunty patter and wonderful musicianship is well displayed here. Best of all, these tracks were recorded on 33 1/3" LP records and so Waller can go on beyond the three-minute limitation of a '78. It's like being at a live performance! In addition there are two takes of some pieces, and wonderful recordings available nowhere else.
This is A MUST HAVE FOR THE FATS WALLER FAN.