last updated :
October 2014
Harlem, New-York in the 30's ...
Believe it Beloved (1935)
Picture this ! Fats Waller, whether alone at the piano or accompanied
by his orchestra, pounding out his ditties with his inevitable touch of clownish
wit, stops, pours himself a shot or two of gin and cracks a joke while eyeing at
the waitress hips ...
The dazzled public asks for more, even to the point of forgetting his music, his
delicate "stride".
Like a burst of laughter, Fats Waller rattled off more than 450 compositions
including many well-known standards, as well as hundred of recordings, concerts,
tours, clubs, radio shows, musicals ... In short, he had a hearty appetite in every sense of the word.
Fats Waller left a remarkable stamp on the history of jazz but also, in the hearts of
scores of admirers. More than seventy years after he left this earth, his style, joie
de vivre and exuberance continues to pull us away from our worries et remind us that good humour is still powerful medicine.
références :
Ain't Misbehavin, the story of Fats Waller by Ed Kirkeby - Da capo press,
NY
Fats Waller, Maurice Waller and Antony Calabrese - Schimer books NY
Fats Waller, Alyn Shipton - Omnibus Press, London
Crédit photos : The Frank Driggs collection, M. Lipskin, S. Grossman, D.Schiedt
English version : Thanks to Jerry Zucker for his precious help
copyright 2000 / 2014 JCS