Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I most highly recommend this book!, June 19, 1998
I love Fats Waller, which is why I wanted to read this biography by his son, Maurice Waller. I had high hopes and expectations, and I was not in the least bit disappointed! This is a great book! The biography is filled with Maurice Waller's fascinating anecdotes, one of the most notable being the one about how Fats was kidnapped by Al Capone's men. I was also intrigued by the ways in which Fats acquired his musical education, and with the accounts of how he composed his music. The authors also bring to life the context in which Fats Waller lived and worked: the rich culture of Harlem, the way in which the jazz greats nurtured each other and promising young musicians such as Fats, how they created their music, and how Fats and the others dealt with racism in the performing world. It also provides a fascinating look at the young recording industry. The book includes several appendices of Fats Waller's recordings and compositions. This book is short, fast-moving and easy to read, and absolutely packed with information. It enhanced my appreciation and understanding of the great Fats Waller and his work. Anyone who loves jazz should read this book!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First Rate, Fantastic, BUY THIS BOOK!, April 13, 2001
I just finished reading this wonderful book a few hours ago. The book is so well written, so full of honesty and family anecdotes, it make me feel almost as if I were a member of the Waller family. Maurice Waller (Fats' son) has written a classic, seminal book about the greatest pianist/singer/comedian/actor/composer of the twentieth century. I place Fats' untimely death at age 39 in the same category in terms of the tragedy and loss to the world of music, as the tragic death of George Gershwin in his 30's. (Gershwin and Fats were good friends, by the way. It was Gershwin who suggested to Fats that he study counterpoint and harmony with Godowsky). There are so many good things to say about this book that I wouldn't have room to list them all. Maurice Waller, born in 1927, should in my opinion win a Pulitzer prize for this book. I have already begun ordering CD's ...in order to better appreciate this great man's musical output. Fats was taken under J.P. Johnson's wing when Fats was 16 and J.P. Johnson was 26. Fats himself personally taught Count Basie how to play the organ. Fats was a truly wonderful human being. Over 10,000 people came to his funeral in Harlem when died in 1943. Thank you, Maurice Waller, for writing this monumental book about a monumental man.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A superb portrait of Fats Waller, August 6, 2007
In 1969, for me, modern jazz had hit a dead end. The same riffs, the same key changes. Four soloists in search of an ensemble. To paraphrase Hemingway, the musicians were having all the fun and the audience none.
The critics had come to rule the roost and acted like political commissars on what was correct and proper jazz. Who influenced whom? Who was selling out? It had become boring and tiresome, and I was not alone in this feeling or rather I was alone...alone or nearly alone when I went to hear live jazz. It was over.
When visiting my cousin, Walter Gabrielson, I happened to hear an RCA Victor Vintage LP of Fats Waller (produced by Mike Lipskin who wrote the forward to this biography.) The first cut was "Got a Bran' New Suit." I laughed until I cried at first from nervousness at the corniness of the song but gradually from the pure joy of the record. It had a short but wonderful piano solo, he sang and clowned with the lyric, and then the band played a few ensemble riffs and a couple of short solos. In 3 short minutes, that music had sounded more alive to me than anything I'd heard in a long time. Later, I discovered that "Bran New Suit" was hardly Fats Waller's best work. It was nevertheless like a revelation.
I was most struck as I listened to the rest of the cuts on the album by the piano solos. Waller played piano with both hands and used the whole piano. He played with a great touch and technical proficiency. His brief piano solos said more in 30 seconds than I had heard in years of listening to music. It opened the door to all the older music that I've come to enjoy for many years.
I was not predisposed to reading books about jazz. Too often they were filled with score settling that came out of the old bebop wars. So, I missed this book by Fats Waller's son much to my regret now.
Fats Waller the biography is fine portrait of a very gifted, but very human celebrity. He overcame many obstacles with sheer talent but also created many of his own. There is also a lot of insight into how Harlem became Harlem and the story of the music world in the 1920's. It also tells some of the story of James P. Johnson and his important contributions to the music of the first half of the 20th Century, not the least of which was his mentoring of Fats Waller.
The book also answered one question I had about Waller's piano playing. Occasionally, he would play a few bars of boogie bass piano. While it was technically proficient, it sounded false, phony. Why, I wondered? According to his son, he hated it. He even had contracts written so that he didn't have to play it. Now it makes sense.
Fats Waller was a giant of American music and is today the most underrated piano player in jazz. Yes, that's right, the most underrated.
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