Fats Waller
Jazz music's first organist and one of the giants of piano jazz Thomas Wright Fats Waller was born on May 21, 1904 in Harlem into a musical family. His grandfather was an accomplished violinist and his mother was the church organist. His family had moved to New York City from Virginia in the late 1880s and his father was the pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. His first exposure of music was in the form of church hymns and organ music, an instrument that he was taught to play by his mother and the church musical director. The latter introduced him to the works of J.S. Bach which he played on and off for the rest of his life. When he was about 6 or 7, because he had expressed interest in playing the neighbor's piano, his mother hired a piano tutor for him. He learned how to read and write music from his piano teacher but he preferred to play by ear.
At age 14 he won a talent contest playing Carolina Shout by James P. Johnson, a song he had learned by watching a pianola play it. That year he left school and worked at odd jobs for a year. In 1919 he got his first regular job when he was hired by a movie theatre to play organ accompaniment to the silent films they showed.
His father wanted him to follow in his footsteps and go into a career in religion but he wanted to pursue his passion for music so in 1920, after his mother died, because of the disagreements he had with his father over this issue he moved out of his family's house and in with the family of pianist Russell Brooks where he met James P
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Book Review
My Blue Note Obsession
Anatomy of a Standard
Album Review
- Fats Waller on the Air 1938 Broadcasts by Ken Dryden
Extended Analysis
Profile
Album Review
- The Centennial Collection by Mark Corroto
- The 1935 Transcriptions by C. Michael Bailey
May 21, 2020
Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Waller
May 21, 2019
Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Waller
May 21, 2018
Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Waller
July 28, 2016
May 21, 2016
Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Waller
May 21, 2015
Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Waller
January 23, 2015
New Jazz Film "They Died Before 40" Seeks Help With Photographs
June 18, 2014
The Fats Waller Bluebird Sessions This Week On Riverwalk Jazz
May 21, 2014
Jazz Musician of the Day: Fats Waller
August 19, 2013
The Fats Waller Bluebird Sessions This Week On Riverwalk Jazz
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