Customer Reviews

Joint Is Jumpin

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great album. The person who wrote the review comparing Fats to Elton John is freaking nuts. Fats Waller was ten times the musician Elton John could ever hope to be. And as far as piano playing there were few then and practically none now that that can compare with him. Elton John is a punk. This guy was a genius.

This compilation has been slighted in reviews that I've read, which is unfortunate. This is a fine compilation of Thomas Waller. It's as good as the Time-Life LPs in presenting Waller who is unfortunately dismissed as merely popular a pianist or quaint curiosity. There wasn't anyone writing popular lyrics in the 30s and 40s that had his gift for invention and for melody. And that certainly includes the Gershwins. Nor was there anyone as prolific--Fats tossed away pop masterpieces (or sold them to hacks for ready cash). What I love about him is the sense of whimsy and the mother wit and satire in the face of the purely commercial aspects of Tin Pan Alley and American racism of his time. He inverts the crass nonsense that the label foists on him and makes it his own with the irony that comes from genius beset by idiocy and the joy that comes from genius celebrating its gifts. This compilation of Bluebird material is representative, and it's a worthy introduction to one of America's musical geniuses. You can't get away from Fats. Just listen to Prairie Home Companion. Better yet, listen to this CD. Go find some others. Then hear Pops play Fats.

Fats sure didn't take care of himself, what with his excessive eating and drinking. He died way too young.

In a way, he was the Louis Armstrong of the keyboards, his nimble skill married to joyous abandon, his smiling face and festive performing style etched in the minds of those who have enjoyed his music over the decades. But he was more than a great musician and performer. He was one of the 20th century's major songwriters. "Ain't Misbehavin'" has as important a spot in the pantheon of American song as anything by Gershwin or Berlin.

Fats' influence has extended past what people think of as jazz, though. A prodigious pianist/songster of the latter half of the last century, Elton John, now carries Waller's mantle and, if you don't believe this, all you need to do is hear him play "Bennie And The Jets" live. The point is, of course, that long after Fats' untimely death, his music lives on, fully and well, in the hearts and minds of other musicians and the listening public.

My only complaint about this thoroughly enjoyable CD is that it doesn't contain "Black And Blue," Fats' touching commentary on racism in the pre-civil rights era. Otherwise, I would have given this collection five stars.

Okay, it's not the deepest, most meaningful stuff in the world, but it's really FUN. Fats just eats up the keyboard. I like to play this one in my office just to see how long it takes people to tap and hum along. Get it. It was cool then; it's cool now.

I'll make this short and sweet! Ready? Here 'tis! Try to stay gloomy and listen to Fats at the same time. Go on! I dare ya! Yes Yes, The Joint IS Jumpin! Share it with your friend and make them happy, too!