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Fats Navarro

“Fats was a spectacular musician because, in a time when cats arrived on the scene with nothing, he came on with everything: he could read, he could play high and hold anybody's first trumpet chair, he could play those singing, melodic solos with a big beautiful sound nobody could believe at the time, and he could fly in fast tempos with staccato, biting notes and execute whatever he wanted with apparently no strain, everything clear. And every note meant something. You know, there are those kinds of guys who just play a lot of notes, some good, some bad. Fats wasn't one of those. He made his music be about each note having a place and a reason. And he had so much warmth, so much feeling. That's why I said he had everything."…..Roy Haynes

The story begins in Key West, Florida where Theodore "Fats" Navarro was born of mixed Cuban-Black-Chinese parentage on September 24, 1923. His musical training began early with piano lessons at age six, but he did not start taking music seriously until he took up the trumpet at age thirteen. He became well grounded in the fundamentals of music during his high school years. He also studied tenor saxophone and played briefly with Walter Johnson's band in Miami. After graduating high school, he joined Sol Allbrights's band in Orlando, traveled with him to Cincinnati, took further trumpet lessons from an Ohio teacher, and soon went on the road with Snookum Russell's Indianapolis-based orchestra.

Russell's group, a well regarded "territorial" band in the 1940s, proved to be a valuable training ground for Fats.Such stars an J.J. Johnson and Ray Brown had paid their dues there. Fats stayed with Russell for about two years (1941-42) and became its feature trumpet soloist. At that time, his style was strongly influenced by the great Roy Eldridge and his (Fats') third cousin, the wonderful trumpet stylist Charlie Shavers. He was yet to hear and incorporate Dizzy Gillespie's and Charlie Parker's message. His next stop was with Andy Kirk and his Kansas City-based "Clouds of Joy." Here he met and forged a lasting friendship with trumpeter Howard McGhee. Maggie, as he was known, was a few years older than Fats and was an important influence in his development.

From the Andy Kirk band, Fats accepted Billy Eckstine's invitation to join up as Eckstine's band was both commercially successful and perhaps the most musically advanced. Besides Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, the band included at one time or other during a brief four year span a lineup of future stars that is unprecedented in all of jazz: Kenny Dorham, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Gene Ammons, Lucky Thompson, Bud Johnson, Frank Wess, Charlie Rouse, Sonny Stitt, Leo Parker, Cecil Payne, Tadd Dameron, Jerry Valentine, Tommy Potter, Art Blakey, and Sarah Vaughan were some of the more notable to pass through the band.

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Album Review

Charlie Parker: At Birdland 1950 Revisited

Read "At Birdland 1950 Revisited" reviewed by Chris May


When it comes to live recordings of Charlie Parker, Jazz At Massey Hall, from a concert in Toronto in May 1953, has been widely considered the slam-dunk number one ever since Charles Mingus released it on his Debut label in 1956. Forensicists might favour the 7-CD The Complete Dean Benedetti Recordings Of Charlie Parker (Mosaic, 1990), but for most people, Massey Hall takes pole position. There have, however, been challengers for the top spot. Prominent among them ...

15
Album Review

Various Artists: The Birth of Bop

Read "The Birth of Bop" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


Someone famously called jazz the sound of surprise, but all too often, what is on offer is the dull hum of routine. Or something like that. This historic reissue is, however, anything but routine. This is not the first time that Teddy Reig's Savoy sides have been reissued (was he also the mysterious Buck Ram listed as producing one track?), but Craft Recordings took a lot of trouble to produce this very fine selection. If a listener were, ...

42
Radio & Podcasts

September Birthday Salutes

Read "September Birthday Salutes" reviewed by Marc Cohn


September birthdays this week on G&M! Pianists: Gene Harris, Horace Silver, Onaje Allan Gumbs & Bud Powell; organists Jack McDuff & Akiko Tsuruga; guitarist Peter Bernstein; reeds (lots of 'em!) Art Pepper, Tony Dagradi, Julian “Cannonball" Adderley, Bob Reynolds, Gary Bartz, Ken Vandermark, Oliver Lake & John Coltrane; drummers Matt Wilson & Elvin Jones; trumpeter Fats Navarro & vocalist Jon Hendricks! Enjoy the show! Be sure to tell your friends about G&M. Thanks to our most engaged listeners ...

3
Radio & Podcasts

Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro, Sonny Stitt & JJ Johnson (1946 - 1950)

Read "Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro, Sonny Stitt & JJ Johnson (1946 - 1950)" reviewed by Russell Perry


In the past several hours of Jazz at 100, we have featured the music of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, and Max Roach. In this hour, we will continue to present bebop innovators—pianist/composer Tadd Dameron and his frequent (but short-lived) collaborator Fats Navarro, the next great bebop trumpeter after Dizzy Gillespie, and two of the greatest and longest-lived bebop soloists, Bird's rival—alto saxophonist Sonny Stitt who recorded until 1982 and the first significant bebop trombonist ...

25
My Blue Note Obsession

Fats Navarro and Tadd Dameron – The Complete Blue Note and Capitol Recordings

Read "Fats Navarro and Tadd Dameron – The Complete Blue Note and Capitol Recordings" reviewed by Marc Davis


There aren't many jazz records I'd consider essential. This is one. Granted, Fats Navarro isn't in the pantheon of jazz trumpeters. For starters, he didn't live long enough. He died in 1950 at age 26, so his discography is short. For another, Navarro's brief career overlapped that of trumpet legend Dizzy Gillespie, and came just before trumpet greats Miles Davis and Clifford Brown. It's hard to stand out in that crowd. But look closer: Fats Navarro ...

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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Fats Navarro's birthday today!

“Fats was a spectacular musician because, in a time when cats arrived on the scene with nothing, he came on with everything: he could read, he could play high and hold anybody's first trumpet chair, he could play those singing, melodic solos with a big beautiful sound nobody could believe at the time, and he could fly in fast tempos with staccato, biting notes and execute whatever he wanted with apparently ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Fats Navarro's birthday today!

“Fats was a spectacular musician because, in a time when cats arrived on the scene with nothing, he came on with everything: he could read, he could play high and hold anybody's first trumpet chair, he could play those singing, melodic solos with a big beautiful sound nobody could believe at the time, and he could fly in fast tempos with staccato, biting notes and execute whatever he wanted with apparently ...

1

Video / DVD

Fats Navarro: Bebop's Trumpet Bridge

Fats Navarro: Bebop's Trumpet Bridge

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Trumpeter Fats Navarro was the link between Dizzy Gillespie and Clifford Brown. Navarro was in awe of Gillespie in the 1940s, particularly his fingering on the trumpet's valves. For Navarro and many bebop trumpeters, they were enamored of Gillespie's short cuts on the valves to produce pure notes. While Navarro modeled his own bebop approach on Gillespie's, he played harder, stylistically, as if pushing the notes out. Gillespie was more about dancing up and down the scales with elegance and ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Fats Navarro's birthday today!

“Fats was a spectacular musician because, in a time when cats arrived on the scene with nothing, he came on with everything: he could read, he could play high and hold anybody's first trumpet chair, he could play those singing, melodic solos with a big beautiful sound nobody could believe at the time, and he could fly in fast tempos with staccato, biting notes and execute whatever he wanted with apparently ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Fats Navarro's birthday today!

“Fats was a spectacular musician because, in a time when cats arrived on the scene with nothing, he came on with everything: he could read, he could play high and hold anybody\'s first trumpet chair, he could play those singing, melodic solos with a big beautiful sound nobody could believe at the time, and he could fly in fast tempos with staccato, biting notes and execute whatever he wanted with apparently ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Fats Navarro's birthday today!

“Fats was a spectacular musician because, in a time when cats arrived on the scene with nothing, he came on with everything: he could read, he could play high and hold anybody\'s first trumpet chair, he could play those singing, melodic solos with a big beautiful sound nobody could believe at the time, and he could fly in fast tempos with staccato, biting notes and execute whatever he wanted with apparently ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Fats Navarro's birthday today!

“Fats was a spectacular musician because, in a time when cats arrived on the scene with nothing, he came on with everything: he could read, he could play high and hold anybody\'s first trumpet chair, he could play those singing, melodic solos with a big beautiful sound nobody could believe at the time, and he could fly in fast tempos with staccato, biting notes and execute whatever he wanted with apparently ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Fats Navarro's birthday today!

“Fats was a spectacular musician because, in a time when cats arrived on the scene with nothing, he came on with everything: he could read, he could play high and hold anybody\'s first trumpet chair, he could play those singing, melodic solos with a big beautiful sound nobody could believe at the time, and he could fly in fast tempos with staccato, biting notes and execute whatever he wanted with apparently ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Fats Navarro's birthday today! “Fats was a spectacular musician because, in a time when cats arrived on the scene with nothing, he came on with everything: he could read, he could play high and hold anybody\'s first trumpet chair, he could play those singing, melodic solos with a big beautiful sound nobody could believe at the time, and he could fly in fast tempos with staccato, biting notes and execute whatever he wanted with apparently ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Navarro

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Fats Navarro's birthday today!

“Fats was a spectacular musician because, in a time when cats arrived on the scene with nothing, he came on with everything: he could read, he could play high and hold anybody\'s first trumpet chair, he could play those singing, melodic solos with a big beautiful sound nobody could believe at the time, and he could fly in fast tempos with staccato, biting notes and execute whatever he wanted with apparently ...

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