Since all of the previous Fats Waller Rhythm reissue series start off in 1934 and get discontinued before reaching the '40s, this time around the newest program has started out with Waller's last recordings and is working its way backwards. This essential three-CD set contains the pianist/vocalist/composer's last 63 studio recordings. Some of the titles are quite laughable ("Little Curly Hair in a High Chair," "You're a Square from Delaware," "Abercrombie Had a Zombie" and "Come Down to Earth My Angel") but Waller manages to either satirize or save virtually all of the somewhat dubious material. There are some out-and-out classics included on this set too, including "Fats Waller's Original E Flat Blues," "All That Meat and No Potatoes" and "The Jitterbug Waltz"; this wonderful set of spirited music concludes with "Ain't Misbehavin'" from the soundtrack of Stormy Weather.
- Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Box sets are an unlikely way to begin collecting an artist, but there's an addictive pull to Fats Waller's work. He was a larger-than-life personality who could leap from earnest sentimentality to outright mockery in the next breath, or take a lightweight novelty tune and make it far more novel with a few verbal and musical touches. While jazz has had numerous pianists who hum, grunt, or mumble while they're playing, Waller was the only one who could turn the compulsion into comic patter, and there have been few pianists who have had a comparable impact on the way the instrument is played. There are 64 tracks on this three CD-set, chronicling Waller's band and orchestra recordings for RCA Victor in the three years before his death, in 1943. As with other volumes in the series, there's a host of surprises. Waller's a fountain of verbal and musical invention, whether it's reinventing the lyrics of Lil Armstrong's "You Run Your Mouth" or creating the delicate organ-guitar dialogue of "Mamacita" with guitarist Al Casey. Two of Waller's most enduring compositions are heard in singular versions here. "Jitterbug Waltz" gets its first performance with Waller playing organ with a big band, while "Ain't Misbehavin'," the last tune here, is heard in an inspired rendition with altoist Benny Carter and drummer Zutty Singleton. --Stuart Broomer
[свернуть]
