Willie "The Lion" Smith was one of the last remaining giants from the stride piano era when he made this studio recording for Decca in 1965. Although seven of the 15 tracks are Smith's compositions, they are not his better known works, adding to the value of this release. One can hear how a performance like the driving "In a Minor Groove" could have influenced Duke Ellington early in his career. There are also strong takes of oldies like "Ain't She Sweet" and "Some of These Days," along with an elaborate arrangement of George Gershwin's "Summertime" that likely dazzled the composer if he had the opportunity to hear it during his many visits to Harlem. Smith delves into the works of his comrades in stride, including James P. Johnson's demanding and unjustly obscure "Steeplechase" and protégé Fats Waller's well-known "Honeysuckle Rose"…

The king of post-1945 stride pianists, Ralph Sutton is so consistently brilliant that it is difficult to come up with a recording of his that isn't highly recommended. This CD, a set of piano solos recorded in England and originally released by the J&M label, finds Sutton digging into well-known and obscure material alike. Three pieces are medleys, including a 12-and-a-half-minute, four-song tribute to composer Willard Robison. Other highlights include Fats Waller's "Viper's Drag," "I've Found a New Baby," "When I Grow Too Old to Dream," and "Honeysuckle Rose." Yet another highly recommended Ralph Sutton CD.

This was the great pianist Dick Wellstood's personal favorite record and one can understand why. The music is very well recorded and Wellstood sounds quite inspired throughout the solo set. For the 1994 CD reissue, the original eight songs are joined by eight additional (and previously unreleased) performances and the quality stays consistently high. Wellstood, who had an open mind toward more modern styles of jazz while keeping his stride piano style undiluted, performs surprising versions of "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" and John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" in addition to some swing standards and classics associated with James P. Johnson, Fats Waller and Earl Hines. Among the highpoints are "Snowy Morning Blues," "If Dreams Come True," "Rosetta" and a piece based on a classical work ("Paganini's Thing"). This is an essential acquisition for classic jazz collectors.

Ralph Sutton was one of the few living masters of stride piano by the time this night club engagement was recorded in St. Louis. This is the second volume of music recorded during his March, 1999, gig at the Backstage Bistro, but it is by no means inferior to the earlier Gaslight CD. Accompanied by two seasoned veterans, bassist Jack Lesberg and drummer Frank Capp, Sutton is in top form. One doesn't normally think of "Moonglow" as part of a stride pianist's repertoire, but Sutton's jaunty interpretation should prompt other practitioners to include it in their books. "Basin Street Blues" features a delightful call-and-response between the artist and Lesberg in its introduction before the leader takes over to work his magic with this jazz standard. The pianist also is featured on several delightful solos, including an alternate take of "Love Me" (a tune all but forgotten by most jazz musicians), a tantalizing performance of "Love Lies," a jubilant "Tea for Two," plus the added bonus of a private recording made in 1950, in a fan's home, of Sutton's romp through the boogie woogie classic "Honky Tonk Train Blues." Highly recommended!

Art Tatum (1909-1956) is one of the most important jazz pianists of all time, a role model even for Generation Y players like Christian Sands, born in 1989. Along with Earl Hines, Tatum was the style-setting pianist and a link between the early pioneers of jazz, such as Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller and James P. Johnson, and the bebop greats of modern jazz, all of whom were inspired by Tatum's modern sense of harmony. Charlie Parker is said to have worked as a dish washer in a club for weeks only to get closer to and more familiar with Tatum's playing…

Among his many unfulfilled plans, it was Fats Waller's ambition to tour with a large band, preaching the Gospel as his father had before him. The closest he came to realizing this dream was "There's Gonna Be the Devil to Pay" and "Brother Seek and Ye Shall Find," both recorded during the summer of 1935. These are hot stomps but the inherent religious message is made abundantly clear by the piano player, who belts out Biblical references like "Samson, where lies thy strength?" at the top of his lungs. Fats would have made a good preacher. You get just a glimpse of this potential every time he raises his voice. 1935 was a particularly successful year for this man and his hot little bands. This particular slice of the chronology happens to focus upon a short period of time during which reedman Gene Sedric was replaced by an expressive clarinetist and alto saxophonist named Rudy Powell…

One of several Classics discs chronicling Waller's vast amount of Bluebird combo sides from the '30s and '40s, this roundup of some of the pianist's 1935 offerings includes many fine cuts but doesn't quite rank with the maestro's best work. Featuring Waller's longstanding Fats Waller & His Rhythm band, the 22 numbers may not include any original material, but there is still more than enough in the way of indelible performances. This is especially true for a wonderful "Lulu's Back in Town," the Coots and Gillespie rarity "Whose Honey Are You?," and "Rosetta."

Fats Waller - The 1935 Transcriptions (2001) {Naxos 8.120577}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 113 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 143 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 10 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1935, 2001 Naxos Jazz Legends | 8.120577
Jazz / Early Jazz / Jive / Stride / Swing / Piano

One fine day, Fats Waller ambled into a New York studio and knocked out a stack of a dozen 16" transcription discs for Muzak-Associated Transcriptions. (Can you imagine anyone pulling that off so casually today in the span of a few hours?) The transcriptions are mostly medleys of many of Waller's tunes and cover versions that he was recording for Victor, interspersed with the fat man's inimitable comments and verbal mugging. While Rudy Powell turns up on clarinet on the first medley and on alto sax on the second, Waller goes it alone everywhere else, turning out seemingly perfect takes every time.