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Fats Waller Sheet Music - OnlineSheetMusic.com. Ain't Misbehavin': Fats Waller. Thomas “Fats” Waller grew up playing the reed organ for his father, a Baptist preacher who did services for the local Harlem community. At the age of 16, Fats mother died and he moved in with his pianist friend Russell B.

T. Brooks, rejecting his father’s religious ways. Russell B. T. Brooks became Waller’s tutor and Waller started learning the piano right away. Fats collaborated with many famous artists of the 1930’s but his solo recordings Handful of Keys, Smashing Thirds, Numb Fumblin', and Valentine Stomp were what set him apart from the rest. For the latter half of his career Waller travelled. Fats Waller went on a tour of Europe in 1938 where he recorded both organ and piano solos.

The last few years of Waller’s life were in the United States. Fats Waller a truly progressive and talented soul, made his mark on the world. *Stride piano: Sometimes referred to as jazz piano, is a complex piano playing which uses the length of the keyboard an intricate syncopated rhythms. Ain't Misbehavin' [Original Broadway Cast] - Original Cast Recording. Ain't Misbehavin' | The Official Masterworks Broadway Site.

Gargantuan is the word that most precisely describes Fats Waller. He was in every way immense and prodigious. His appetites and his talents were large and inexhaustible. His friend and teacher, James P. Johnson, once said, “Some little people have music in them, but Fats, he was all music, and you know how big he was.” He was 5 feet 10½ inches tall and weighed 285 pounds. He was all laughter too – or almost all – and the most persistent image of Fats is the picture of him settled down at the piano with a bottle of gin nearby, his eyebrows raised, his derby askew and a cigarette dangling from his wide, cockeyed smile. Thomas Wright Waller grew up in the exciting musical atmosphere of Harlem in the teens and ’20s.

When he was still in his early 20s Fats began his collaboration with lyricist Andy Razaf; they scored their first success in 1928 with “Keep Shufflin’.” Fats was as generous as he was overindulging, and stories of his bigheartedness and high-living abound. . – Murray Horwitz. Encore Michigan - Theater, Theater Events, Theater Reviews, Theater Calendar. By Donald V. Calamia The popular Jazz Cafe at Detroit's Music Hall expands its horizons this week with Ain't Misbehavin' – The Fats Waller Musical, which opens Dec. 17 for an initial four-performance run. Starring Alvin Waddles as the legendary artist, this intimate production is staged by Michael J. Barnes of Wayne State University's theater department and features a stellar cast of local performers. Barnes talked recently to EncoreMichigan.com about the project's origins and its unique appeal to jazz-lovers and theatergoers alike. How did this production of Ain't Misbehavin' – The Fats Waller Musical come about?

This past spring, when I was directing Ragtime at Wayne State University's Bonstelle Theatre, the music director turned to me — as we watched a scene — and said, you know we basically have a cast for Ain't Misbehavin'. I heard through the grapevine that Music Hall might be looking for things to go into the space, so I approached Vince Paul about the idea.

Michael J. Show times. Aint_Misbehavin_DG.pdf. Fats Waller on the Air: The Radio Broadcasts and Discography - Stephen Taylor. Youtube. Fats Waller - a documentary Part 3. Youtube. Fats Waller - a documentary. Part 1. Jeni LeGon, Bill Robinson and Fats Waller Perform, "Living In A Great Big Way" Fats Waller - Ain't Misbehavin' - Stormy Weather (1943) Fats Waller. Early life[edit] Career[edit] Overcoming opposition from his clergyman father, Waller became a professional pianist at 15, working in cabarets and theaters. [citation needed] In 1918 he won a talent contest playing Johnson's "Carolina Shout", a song he learned from watching a player piano play it. [citation needed] Standards alternatively and sometimes controversially attributed to Waller include "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby". Waller played with many performers, from Nat Shilkret (on Victor 21298-A) and Gene Austin, to Erskine Tate, Fletcher Henderson, McKinney's Cotton Pickers and Adelaide Hall, but his greatest success came with his own five- or six-piece combo, "Fats Waller and his Rhythm".

His playing once put him at risk of injury. Waller performed Bach organ pieces for small groups on occasion. Between 1926 and the end of 1927, Waller recorded a series of pipe organ solo records. Death[edit] Revival and awards[edit] In popular culture[edit] Key recordings[edit] See also[edit]