May 21, 2004, marks the one-hundreth anniversary of the birth of one of the world's greatest composers, musicians, performers, and human beings: Thomas "Fats" Waller. So, you have a choice: celebrate from May 21, 2003 through May 21, 2004, or hold off until 2004 and celebrate through until May 21, 2005 -- or, split the difference and celebrate from May 21, 2003 through May 21, 2005 -- that's the Fats Waller way! (A daily dose of "liquid bacon and eggs" is optional, but highly recommended.)
On learning of Fats' death, James P. Johnson -- the "Father of Harlem Stride Piano", the first person credited with recording a jazz piano solo, and Fats' mentor -- said:
Some little people have a lot of music in them. Fats was all music, and you know how big he was.
To hear a good bit of that music, including a lot of rare early recordings, as well as the classic "Fats Waller & His Rhythm" sessions, visit the Thomas "Fats" Waller page at RedHotJazz.com.
Caveat: The RedHotJazz site is: a) framed, without NOFRAMES alternatives; b) lacks alternative text for images that substitute for page headers; and c) utilizes the RealAudio format for sound files, which means that you need to have RealPlayer installed on your computer. Nevertheless, the site's contents are superb and the sound files are easily located and selected. If you have difficulty downloading RealPlayer, you can use the following link to initialize the download routine for the free RealPlayer. CAUTION: when you select the "initialize the download routine for the free RealPlayer" link, the download will start instantaneously.
this document created May 21, 2003
last updated May 22, 2004