Fats delivered one of the most memorable lines in jazz lore. He was playing in a club in New York when Art Tatum walked in. Fats spotted him, stopped and said to the audience, "Ladies and gentlemen, I play the piano. But tonight, God is in the house."
While driving a taxi in San Francisco in the '90s I was playing a cd of either Fats Waller or Billie Holiday when a conventioneering business man in his 40s asked me "what kind of music is this?" I felt truly sorry for Mr. Button Down. "It's called 'jazz', sir."
All of a sudden it's a dance hall in a 10 by 12 room in 1941,.Anyone who listens to this in it's entirety will sleep better from now on for the rest of their life. I'm glad I found it.
The late great Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller was born on this day in NYC in 1904. He was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer, whose innovations to the Harlem stride style laid the groundwork for modern jazz piano.
Swinging the Blues...a Fats Waller composition ...i was taught 73 years ago when learning Harlem Stride ...has all the great progressions etc....but finding this music for this is seemingly impossible....bought all his books... Still play this piece....stride etc. But no music .....Swingin the Blues ....great learning piece.....played pro for several years ....still play in seniors home where i live. . at 91
The solo that Fats Waller takes at 2:05 sounds the closest to James P. Johnson of anything I've ever heard recorded of him. At 2:41, I think that is Bennie Payne playing the high countermelody, while Waller takes the lead in a lower treble register.
I love Fats' interpretation; You hear all the inner voices in the lefthand and melody in the right hand and his touch is wonderful. Tatum plays (as often) a lot of notes in the right hand, but i hardly hear any melody. Fats played organ too and in Europe he was called "The Chopin of Jazz"
I agree. Fats is an artist of senses and a pianist of great dexterity and mellow; Art is a pianist and a technician of dexterity, much of a great “mechanicist”
I hear about 35 melodies in Art Tatum's version in addition to the original. His improvisational skills are on a different level, married to unequaled technique. You may not like the way he reharmonizes and reinvents constantly, but it seems the complete opposite of "mechanical."
Honestly I always found it easier to imitate Tatum than Fats. With enough practice, you eventually get there in terms of technique, speed etc, even his unusual modulations are something that can be learnt. But Fats' genius was in how he was one with the piano, made it swing and sing and make any day one listened to him a great day. You can get Fats Waller's transcriptions, learn and play them note for note and it still wouldn't have the same atmosphere and radiate the same joy like when he played it.
@@jacobzimmermann59this is exactly how i feel. ain't misbehaving is the only song of his i got down almost 100% to the way fats played it. the rest...i gave up
Considering how many anecdotes there are from people who upon hearing Tatum for the first time thought they were actually hearing two pianists, it's not totally inappropriate that Fats plays a duet this time. :-)
Fats Waller had so much influnce on Gospel Music for his name to not be mentioned in its history. I just heard everything we do in Gospel playing in just one minute from 1:30-2:40. Anybody who knows what Church sounds like know that THAT is CHURCH. And he was doing that in 1930 when Gospel Music was in its infancy and the truth is that those musicians who nursed Gospel had to get their influences from somewhere outside those first couple generations of Gospel Music becoming commercial. FATS WALLER'S INFLUENCE CANNOT BE DENIED AND SHOULD BE DOCUMENTED AS SO.
Some of those harmonizations are so far out they are practically in orbit- but always gorgeous with perfect voice-leading. The same goes for the relationship between the bass and the treble, and the inner voices. Mr. Tatum never did anything with any half-measures (so to speak) and that's one of the things that made him one of the greatest.
I’m guessing you have (but just in case you haven’t) - have you heard the telephone interview with Art Tatum where he cites Lee Sims and Fats Walker as his two greatest inspirations. He also talks about “that young Canadian pianist, Oscar Peterson”. It’s slightly surreal to hear him chat on the phone: “This is Art...”
The fact that Fat's version is listened to so much more says alot, and it's not simply because most people naturally don't watch videos to the end. But Fat's version follows the script to a T and adds a bit of sweetener for pleasure. Fact is most people enjoy what's predictable and easy to interpret. They like to things to simply "go as their supposed to," flow like the rest and follow the crowd. People can't handle the creativity complexity of independence in true art. You know what Jazz is supposed to be right? It's deviating from the norm as far as possible while proving consistently a concept of the original tune in a song played.
4:56 what kind of note-chain even is that!? literally art. It's almost like there's two sets of runs here at the same time, running down the scale in random as they just kind of work together in harmony until they reach musical equilibrium at the notes required to catch up with the song, matched in rhythm with the song nonetheless
5:33 buddy doesn't even wait for a predictable end of a measure to que him when to speed up! It could've been at 5:41 But you don't need to pick a moment to shift a song into another tempo, it's spontaneous so that transition can jump in anywhere. Crazy thing is how he kind of builds up suspense in those 3 seconds that follow, like he were letting the music decide its own timing, gradually picking up speed as it goes to 5:44 getting its definitive new tempo. And you wouldn't even know it for that short 3 seconds the rhythm of the song was completely suspended in freeform space!
Wouldn’t it have been great if Art’s brain and Fat;s brain could have been preserved and looked at “after they had gone” to see if there was any difference in ordinary peoples brains to theirs. I have to say, apart from Oscar Peterson, I have never heard the piano played like that. I’m sure there are others, but I have never heard them
Art Tatum overplayed somewhat in my opinion. marvellous at the keyboard though he was..his virtuosity led him to play so many notes and chords in one song,and was very impressive...but he was not in the same class as Thomas Waller when it comes to swing...there may be a time when I can control my tapping feet when Fats plays, but tonight wasn't it.😄
I wouldn't call it overplaying. Art Tatum was simply a natural and spontaneous INNOVATIVE jazz pianist who couldn't help, but as you say overplay. He could be considered a concert jazz pianist - on equal to Horowitz or Arrau. For example, as they were to classical, he was to jazz. He had creativity and imagination and speed which was God-given upon him. Others were in awe and without a clue of how to imitate him - except maybe Oscar Peterson.
Fats delivered one of the most memorable lines in jazz lore. He was playing in a club in New York when Art Tatum walked in. Fats spotted him, stopped and said to the audience, "Ladies and gentlemen, I play the piano. But tonight, God is in the house."
What discernment on Fats Waller's part, warms the heart . . .
Fats actually said,near as I recall was..'some say I play like an angel,but tonight God is in the house'
@@clarkelaidlaw1678 Sounds even better. Thanks.
I remember Jack Kerouac saying the same thing in ‘On the Road’, but he was referring to George Shearing. We all have our gods, I guess.
@@clarkelaidlaw1678 YOU were THERE!?
When I see a Fats Waller selection, odds are it's great music and I play it automatically!
Mr Thomas Waller performance is allways superb, and of course the art of Mr Tatum.
While driving a taxi in San Francisco in the '90s I was playing a cd of either Fats Waller or Billie Holiday when a conventioneering business man in his 40s asked me "what kind of music is this?" I felt truly sorry for Mr. Button Down. "It's called 'jazz', sir."
At least you didn't have to say, "If you don't know by now, don't mess with it!" You may have created a new fan that day!
Then everybody clapped
Must have been the 1890s.
All of a sudden it's a dance hall in a 10 by 12 room in 1941,.Anyone who listens to this in it's entirety will sleep better from now on for the rest of their life. I'm glad I found it.
No one more fun to listen to than Fats Waller
So true!
Yes, the ultimate cheery-uppy pianist. He had humour in his fingertips. Which is why I prefer him to Tatum, for all the latter's brilliance.
@@louisemiriam yeah, I feel the same way.
IMHO the only one who could touch him in terms of sheer fun and contagious swing is Errol Garner.
Please stop uploading these two incredible pianists and theitr fabulous music...I can't get any work done......
Bloodygosh lmao
You recognized almost the best solution for your problem. Funny.. and nice. 🤭👌
Then perhaps your heart lies...somewhere else.
The late great Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller was born on this day in NYC in 1904. He was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer, whose innovations to the Harlem stride style laid the groundwork for modern jazz piano.
facebook.com/Fats.Waller.Jam.and.Jive/
Swinging the Blues...a Fats Waller composition ...i was taught 73 years ago when learning Harlem Stride ...has all the great progressions etc....but finding this music for this is seemingly impossible....bought all his books... Still play this piece....stride etc. But no music .....Swingin the Blues ....great learning piece.....played pro for several years ....still play in seniors home where i live. . at 91
@@miltonmellor280 Keep swinging, Milton!
I heard this on a 756 vinyl in the 40's and loved it ever since. Only just found it again.
Fantastique FATS, un fabuleux musicien, l'esprit même du Jazz
Two giants stride on stride piano! Giant strides...
Art Tatum, I never seen a such performer. I mist him.
The solo that Fats Waller takes at 2:05 sounds the closest to James P. Johnson of anything I've ever heard recorded of him.
At 2:41, I think that is Bennie Payne playing the high countermelody, while Waller takes the lead in a lower treble register.
Masters unparalleled
I love Fats' interpretation; You hear all the inner voices in the lefthand and melody in the right hand and his touch is wonderful. Tatum plays (as often) a lot of notes in the right hand, but i hardly hear any melody. Fats played organ too and in Europe he was called "The Chopin of Jazz"
I agree. Fats is an artist of senses and a pianist of great dexterity and mellow; Art is a pianist and a technician of dexterity, much of a great “mechanicist”
I hear about 35 melodies in Art Tatum's version in addition to the original. His improvisational skills are on a different level, married to unequaled technique. You may not like the way he reharmonizes and reinvents constantly, but it seems the complete opposite of "mechanical."
Umm... "Fats' interpretation;" was a DUET!!!
Benny Paine seems to be the other pianist. @@DOLEWDREW
So Beautiful. The cool cats on the Keys!. Totally in tune with the Universe.
Wonderful music master Fats Waller!!!
Holy what! I didn't know Waller was that innovative and pristine. Know wonder why Capone kidnapped him for his birthday party.
American genius.
Oscar Peterson was able to interpreting such Fats or Art Tatum those incredible GENIUS
Honestly I always found it easier to imitate Tatum than Fats. With enough practice, you eventually get there in terms of technique, speed etc, even his unusual modulations are something that can be learnt. But Fats' genius was in how he was one with the piano, made it swing and sing and make any day one listened to him a great day. You can get Fats Waller's transcriptions, learn and play them note for note and it still wouldn't have the same atmosphere and radiate the same joy like when he played it.
@@jacobzimmermann59this is exactly how i feel. ain't misbehaving is the only song of his i got down almost 100% to the way fats played it. the rest...i gave up
Listening in the old blvd.
Wonderful years in the American musical Renaissance. Thank you TH-cam
The Fats Waller selection is actually a duet with Benny Payne.
It is true
lol tatum still sounds better
Considering how many anecdotes there are from people who upon hearing Tatum for the first time thought they were actually hearing two pianists, it's not totally inappropriate that Fats plays a duet this time. :-)
haha I agree!
Tom Djil True. But Tatum's also playing a duet. With himself.
Elegance, -pure bliss
Simply the best
Fats Waller had so much influnce on Gospel Music for his name to not be mentioned in its history. I just heard everything we do in Gospel playing in just one minute from 1:30-2:40. Anybody who knows what Church sounds like know that THAT is CHURCH. And he was doing that in 1930 when Gospel Music was in its infancy and the truth is that those musicians who nursed Gospel had to get their influences from somewhere outside those first couple generations of Gospel Music becoming commercial. FATS WALLER'S INFLUENCE CANNOT BE DENIED AND SHOULD BE DOCUMENTED AS SO.
Thank you!!
¡¡Beautiful!!
¡¡Precioso!!
Rewatching the Ken Burns Jazz series and this just scratches my itch.
Holy shit, this Tatum record comes the closest to sounding like Lee Sims (in places) of anything I've heard of his so far.
Some of those harmonizations are so far out they are practically in orbit- but always gorgeous with perfect voice-leading. The same goes for the relationship between the bass and the treble, and the inner voices. Mr. Tatum never did anything with any half-measures (so to speak) and that's one of the things that made him one of the greatest.
The coda is so futurist it's almost Sun Ra.
I’m guessing you have (but just in case you haven’t) - have you heard the telephone interview with Art Tatum where he cites Lee Sims and Fats Walker as his two greatest inspirations. He also talks about “that young Canadian pianist, Oscar Peterson”. It’s slightly surreal to hear him chat on the phone: “This is Art...”
@@MrAristaeus Where might I hear that interview?
Ralph Dratman I think it might be this interview: th-cam.com/video/_8jACm9v-lw/w-d-xo.html
so beautiful - thank you for putting this out.
Stride piano at its best!
The fact that Fat's version is listened to so much more says alot, and it's not simply because most people naturally don't watch videos to the end. But Fat's version follows the script to a T and adds a bit of sweetener for pleasure. Fact is most people enjoy what's predictable and easy to interpret. They like to things to simply "go as their supposed to," flow like the rest and follow the crowd. People can't handle the creativity complexity of independence in true art.
You know what Jazz is supposed to be right? It's deviating from the norm as far as possible while proving consistently a concept of the original tune in a song played.
oh my God... I watched a documentary after and this guy summarizes what I mean, perfectly th-cam.com/video/VXJb14qufe4/w-d-xo.html
Listen...I love them both but I have played 1:30-2:40 over and over so many times its bordering on obsession. Fats Waller PLAYED.
In my heart,forever !
4:56 what kind of note-chain even is that!? literally art. It's almost like there's two sets of runs here at the same time, running down the scale in random as they just kind of work together in harmony until they reach musical equilibrium at the notes required to catch up with the song, matched in rhythm with the song nonetheless
Um dos maiores e mais completos pianistas de jazz do mundo dyezzi::. São Paulo - DC - Brasil
De acordo brasileira em CR
wish they made a collab...
Thank you for this upload. It is beautiful.
Das waren noch Zeiten.
Sometimes, I hear Art Tatum play, and I could swear he had five hands.
Family was his teach, Jefferson school for the blind in Toledo Ohio
somewhere is music, how high the moon.... death or no, you're there! Thanks, daddy!
Simplesmente espetacular❤❤❤
Great!
Best ever.
5:33 buddy doesn't even wait for a predictable end of a measure to que him when to speed up! It could've been at 5:41 But you don't need to pick a moment to shift a song into another tempo, it's spontaneous so that transition can jump in anywhere. Crazy thing is how he kind of builds up suspense in those 3 seconds that follow, like he were letting the music decide its own timing, gradually picking up speed as it goes to 5:44 getting its definitive new tempo. And you wouldn't even know it for that short 3 seconds the rhythm of the song was completely suspended in freeform space!
Nice
I miss you Grandpa. @)----
You couldnt have been born to know these guys!
a mi me gustan todos estos grandes............pero fats waller.................es el mas lleno de una gracia especial.....................
Fabulosoo
Tatum was the best
It is not Tatum
3 hands?
Wouldn’t it have been great if Art’s brain and Fat;s brain could have been preserved and looked at “after they had gone” to see if there was any difference in ordinary peoples brains to theirs. I have to say, apart from Oscar Peterson, I have never heard the piano played like that. I’m sure there are others, but I have never heard them
and me, too!
👍
This Fats with Bennie Paine who later became Billiy Daniels pianist
Toledo, Ohio everyone in Toledo had kids learn how to play the piano and they were born blind can’t see
Love Tatum, but Fats is the best
Altra musica
He kinda loses the tempo at 5:30 but the song is still nothing but bliss
He sped up the tempo on purpose.
He sped up the tempo on purpose.
Going to kill computer, telling me family wasn’t Art teach. Piano teacher was Overton Jay Remy RE aMY
Art Tatum overplayed somewhat in my opinion. marvellous at the keyboard though he was..his virtuosity led him to play so many notes and chords in one song,and was very impressive...but he was not in the same class as Thomas Waller when it comes to swing...there may be a time when I can control my tapping feet when Fats plays, but tonight wasn't it.😄
I wouldn't call it overplaying. Art Tatum was simply a natural and spontaneous INNOVATIVE jazz pianist who couldn't help, but as you say overplay. He could be considered a concert jazz pianist - on equal to Horowitz or Arrau. For example, as they were to classical, he was to jazz. He had creativity and imagination and speed which was God-given upon him. Others were in awe and without a clue of how to imitate him - except maybe Oscar Peterson.
A s to me I like more Fats Waller's version, more rfesh and and innovative, as Tatum's one is full of endless arpeggios that's boring.