Customer Reviews

The Music and Life of Theodore "Fats" Navarro: Infatuation (Studies in Jazz)

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There's clearly passion and respect in every page of this book. The authors have tracked down every possible document and insight in relation to Fats' maddeningly brief career and life. There are also numerous transcriptions of Fats' licks and solos, which are crucial to the understanding of Fats' genius. I was also very impressed by the research that went into the portraits of people in the jazz business at that time, such as Herman Lubinsky, the venal owner of Savoy records. The authors did not shirk as well from depicting the devastation of Fats' addiction upon his life and music -- indeed the toll it took on a generation of boppers, and beyond. Fats is in many ways a shadow character, about which we know little. One of the authors interviewed his mother decades ago, in pursuit of the truth about man and artist. The only thing I miss is the biographical aftermath of this story -- what happened to his similarly addicted wife and young daughter after his passing. A must read, if you're passionate about bebop like I am.

Fats Navarro almost instantly caught on to Charlie Parker's style and became the trumpet player of choice along with Dizzy Gillespie in Modern Jazz (bop) circles. His tone was crisp and his solos well thought out. Along with Bird as the creator of Be- Bop ( with help from Diz and Monk) Fats carried the message along with players like pianist Bud Powell. This book outlines Fats career and is both accessible to the layman jazz fan and the musicologist: The chapters are separated by historic review and solo transcriptions. For the collector in you, there is a comprehensive discography. You will learn a lot about the nascent years of Modern Jazz.