January 7th, 2012 - Love Abounds
Song: Rosetta
Original Artist: Earl Hines
Performer: Fats Waller & His Rhythm
Location: Vol. 3, Disc 1, Track 18
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Hey everyone!
There’s actually a very good reason I chose Rosetta for today’s song. The details of it, however, will remain heavily confidential.
Let’s just say that God works in mysterious ways. I was able to reach out to a friend today regarding an issue that I stood very strongly against her on. I prayed and allowed God to use me how he saw fit and whether the result is positive or not, I was filled with the Holy Spirit, and it reinforced my belief that God loves, and that God is good, all the time.
However, that little tidbit about my life aside, Rosetta is a very important song to me because musically it is one of the first songs that taught and allowed me more proficiency in the key of F when improvising. As the progression is somewhat similar to I Ain’t Got Nobody, which was yesterday’s entry, I was able to make short work of it after a few tries at the piano. It is in my permanent repertoire, although I play it less now that I am working on the key of Eb. Yes, unfortunately for me, I have to work out how to improvise properly in each key individually, and improvised however one-dimensionally in the key of C before learning “I Got Rhythm”, “I Ain’t Got Nobody”, and finally “Rosetta”.
I feel that this is a nice ballad contrast to the fast driving style of “I Got Rhythm”, the middling tempo of “I Ain’t Got Nobody”. It really rounds out what I like to do in the key of F.
That being said, it is relatively easy to learn in the key of F, and I encourage any budding or proficient pianist to learn this song for its musically flexible properties. I could play endless choruses (chorii?) of this song.
Enjoy, and keep swinging!
January 6th, 2012 - What We Complain About
Song: I Ain’t Got Nobody
Original Artist: Spencer Williams
Performer: Fats Waller & His Rhythm
Location: Vol. 3, Disc 1, Track 14
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Hey everyone!
Fatigue has once again caught up with me. I am running on 3 hours of sleep and it’s once again 12, and I must conclude the evening as swiftly as possible.
When I listen to a “run of the mill” (and I use the term loosely) Fats recording, it really brings to light the work of a musician. Not his or her artistry or capabilities, but the work of a musician. Many popular musicians do their work in bulk; releasing recordings as quickly as possible, and finding a quick way to do things without dropping the standard.
As we draw the characteristics that are prevalent in Waller’s recording style, and the styles of Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Far East Movement and other popular modern musicians, we can see that sometimes the worth of a musician is determined by what they can accomplish (as well as how well they accomplish it) on a regular, consistent basis. Waller is not defined by the performance of one great song on its own, but rather, how that one work of art stands out in comparison to his usual, perhaps less meticulous work.
It is said that Fats used to do anywhere between one to three takes of his work before releasing a recording. To do merely a take or two per track sounds like two things: that he is perfect and can find no wrong with the playing of the band, or that he doesn’t work towards perfection as he would like. Where I am going with this is that as bulk release requires quality control to be almost completely compromised, it is amazing that Waller still plays like perfection. When I release a video of myself playing, it is usually only after many takes and perhaps not a small amount of concessions.
I feel that the bulk and “run of the mill” work defines Waller slightly more than his greater works. He is a genius because on a regular basis, he plays at an extremely high level. I also find that when I record I sound worse than if I were to play with no cinematographic scrutiny, and if that theory is transferable, then I shudder to think how well Waller would play in a cutting contest, or even just among friends.
“I Ain’t Got Nobody” is a relatively simple standard that Waller works his way around with great musicality. His improvisation is once again in moderation; that he can change the melody so substantially yet give the impression of restraint as well is beyond my comprehension.
Enjoy and keep swinging!
January 5th, 2012 - The More Things Change
Song: Baby Brown
Original Artist: Fats Waller
Performer: Fats Waller & His Rhythm
Location: Vol. 3, Disc 1, Track 7
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…the more they stay the same.
Hey everyone!
I trust everyone had a great New Years celebration as we enter a new year which finds the 2010s in full swing. Speaking of swing…
Tonight I really craved some romping, toe-tapping tune that I could just bop my head to and while going through the tracks I could do tonight (among them Alligator Crawl, which I have done 3 times on this blog all under different names), I found “Baby Brown” which is an original by Waller, and boy does it swing.
As much as I appreciate the genius and musicality of the swing greats like Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller, sometimes joyful, driving rhythm speaks more volumes than a well played solo. While Baby Brown has exceptional solos within, it is the rhythm and the way it is exaggerated in this song that has our toes tapping when we listen. This is exactly what I needed.
Although this entry is short, I thought it would be better to do a short entry than to have no entry at all after being away for almost a week celebrating the new year with friends. Let me take this chance to wish you all again a belated Happy New Year. If you didn’t have a great new year however, here’s hoping that Baby Brown can make up for it.
Enjoy, and keep swinging!
December 30th, 2011 - Disagreement
Song: Clothes Line Ballet
Original Artist: Fats Waller
Performer: Fats Waller
Location: Vol. 3, Disc 1, Track 2
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Hey everyone!
It turns out that African Ripples is not the last entry of 2011. As it is, I am still at home today, but I definitely will not be in capacity to blog tomorrow night as countdown will happen and I will undoubtedly be too tired to write about anything, much less analyzing a track by Fats.
But let us not dwell on the mystery of the future. Let us instead dwell on the resonance of the presence, and in today’s entry, I wish to discuss Clothes Line Ballet. In my opinion this is a wonderfully written piece by Waller. It is a full and rich song, and is a joy to listen to. It looks like a ballad, runs like a ballad, and thus can be played as a ballad. With that in mind however, this is one of the rare occasions where I disagree with Waller’s interpretation of the piece.
When Waller plays this piece, there is a bounce to it that is so prevalent in all of Waller’s work, but in this case, it is to a fault. I’m attempting to learn this piece right now, and what with my deficiencies, I am in no position to be critiquing Waller’s piano playing. Without a doubt, his execution of this piece is exquisite and I always go back to it.
However, the bounce does the song less justice than one comes to expect from Waller’s work. As the song runs, it is better played as a strict ballad, than as the middling tempo that Waller uses in his recording. I personally have practiced this song in three different ways; as a strict ballad, in the style of Waller, and also in a rushed ballad style which can be found in many of Art Tatum’s works, where speed is obvious in all areas except overall tempo. I find that no matter what the mood or atmosphere, the rushed ballad style feels more rushed than ballad, and as such wards me off that style of playing more often than not. It has occurred to me not a few times that I would rather play something genuinely meant to be fast than to play Clothes Line Ballet fast when it shouldn’t. The same idea goes for the Wallerian interpretation. Although Waller emphasizes ballad more than rushed, it is still too bouncy for my liking. Perhaps it is to bring the ballet motif into play, but as a musical work, it doesn’t bring the full glory of the song into application.
I find that an actual slow, deliberate style of playing works for this piece much better than if one were to speed and slow as Waller does in many points of his record, best exemplified in the middle strain. Of course, fast will out, and the third strain should be left fast, and as per Fats’ forte, he executes the third strain in spades.
I hope to show what I am discussing in this entry when I post my recording of Clothes Line Ballet, which may take anything from a few weeks to a few months depending on how well I know it.
Despite my gripes with Waller’s interpretation of his own song, this is a grand recording nonetheless and the work itself is enjoyable to play.
Enjoy, and keep swinging!
December 29th, 2011 - Cue the confetti!
Song: African Ripples, African Ripples (link)
Original Artist: Fats Waller (for both)
Performer: Fats Waller, Josiah Ng (myself)
Location: Vol. 3, Disc 1, Track 1
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Hey everyone!
To be quite honest, I had no idea when I would be doing this entry on African Ripples. I suppose it’s quite fitting that I did it right after Gladyse, but to be honest, there were a couple of tracks I would like to mention. There is an alternate recording of “I Wish I Were Twins” which I kind of liked because the song contains the line ‘I wish I were twins so I could love you twice as much’. I don’t know. I found it rather cute.
However, considering those are just alternate takes it seems rather pointless taking up an extra entry to discuss what is otherwise an average Waller track. African Ripples, however, is far from that.
May I take a quick moment to celebrate with you that we are now in Volume 3 of Fats Waller’s Complete Recorded Works! To be honest, I started this whole series with a lot of trepidation considering that my Stride November and Jazz History events didn’t meet much reception, but thanks to the new influx of followers resulting from my recent two entries, I am refreshed and ready to study more of Waller’s work.
African Ripples, apart from being the first track of the first disc of Volume 3, is an interesting piece of work, written in the key of D Major and occasionally switching to the dominant tonal center of G Major. Both are simple and common keys, yet African Ripples is such a deep work of art that the song feels anything but. What amazes me about Waller all the time is that he can take songs in the simplest key and fill them out, whether it be in full romping stride or in contemplative ballads such as this. He makes African Ripples sound more sophisticated than it is, especially considering he wrote it after Gladyse, and yet in most circles, African Ripples is the more popular track. Gladyse is the more stride, fun, swinging version of a similar musical idea, whereas African Ripples is the more deep and artistic version, as I discussed in yesterday’s entry.
Considering I may not be around to make entries on New Years Eve and Day, I decided to do the New Years double entry early instead of having to apologize for missing entries after the holiday is over. So here is African Ripples, performed by Fats Waller, and myself. Needless to say, the gap in talent is obvious from the get-go. I get the rookie flusters and Waller gets inspiration beyond measure.
Have a happy New Year!
Enjoy, and keep swinging!
December 28th, 2011 - The bridge
Song: Gladyse
Original Artist: Fats Waller
Performer: Fats Waller
Location: Vol. 2, Disc 4, Track 13
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Hey everyone!
This is probably a track I should have done before, but here I am.
As we approach the end of disc 4, most of the tracks after “Breakin’ The Ice” are extra takes that never made the cut. There is an alternate take of Valentine Stomp which was discussed on October 10th, an alternate take of “Goin’ About” which was discussed on October the 11th, as well as numerous other alternate takes of songs I wish I had the time to discuss.
Gladyse itself is built similarly to another track of Waller’s named African Ripples (which will come in a double entry as I have recorded it and will be publishing it soon) and in terms of riffs, ideas and motifs, both tracks are extremely alike. However, Gladyse is a funner version while African Ripples is calmer and more contemplative, as well as perhaps more artistic. In fact, African Ripples is the first track to the next volume, and comparisons will be discussed in depth later on.
I feel that Gladyse and African Ripples are symbols of two different phases of Waller’s life. Gladyse came at a stage when most of Waller’s recordings were still made to get attention, and by the time he was firmly established as a swinging, fun fat guy who played the piano, he was able to come out with African Ripples which is more indicative of the depth and range of Waller’s piano playing. I feel that African Ripples is a true expression of his genius.
Regardless, Gladyse is still an extremely fun track to listen to, and contains many enjoyable elements of Waller’s playing.
Enjoy, and keep swinging!
December 27th, 2011 - Catching Up
Song: Breakin’ The Ice
Original Artist: Fats Waller, Andy Razaf (lyrics)
Performer: Fats Waller & His Rhythm
Location: Vol. 2, Disc 4, Track 9
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Hey everyone!
It has been FOREVER since my last blog entry and I seem to have missed several major holidays since my absence. The excuses are as follows.
First of all, let me wish you all a belated Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas. Hopefully I won’t miss New Years as well. That would be terrible.
The last month leading up to the end of school was a non-stop whirlwind of schoolwork and exams. Worrying about my grades did nothing to alleviate, and did everything to amplify the stress that was already brought on from filling transfer applications to different universities. It is a terribly tedious and heart-wrenching process.
However, in spite of it all, I was able to conclude the project I spearheaded for speech class, wrote a 20 page paper on marital conflict, and played Ain’t Misbehavin’, one of Fats Waller’s most famous works, for my jazz piano class. I would say that despite all the sanity that I lost over the course of a month and a half, I can finally take a break for the first time in my life that I wholly earned and can benefit from.
Enough about stress, however, because recently I had one of the best weekends I’ve had in a while. Prior to that I had a full week of rest, where I was able to be with myself, by myself. I managed to get many things done that I would otherwise have not, and while in isolation, I have been able to restore much of the energy I lost over the course of last quarter. Then, Christmas rolled around and I got to spend it at my cousin’s place, and it was a blast. Christmas Eve monopoly, as well as a wonderful dinner prepared by my aunt, was family fun I had not experienced in a while; joy was everywhere and I had a great time. Christmas day consisted of two things, namely, the powerful Christmas service that I attended, and the opening day of the NBA. The morning’s service was just like any other service, but it was so powerful in that the message was well chosen and delivered, and we were able to sing our hearts out. The NBA returned on the same day as the 2011-12 season began with not a few close games that I had the joy of watching at my cousin’s place.
That is everything up until now. On with the song.
As we continue our series and study on the Complete Recorded Works of Fats Waller, I chose today’s track simply because this is one of the first good “average” tracks. It’s a joy to listen to, but it doesn’t represent some artistic experiment, nor does it stand out from his other works. To me, this is one of Waller’s “average” works in that it sets the standard by which we measure Waller’s other work. It isn’t very well known, yet it isn’t completely obscure. It features the regular form where Waller sings, solos, then comps the band as they solo, after which he finishes off with one more chorus of singing. You’ll find that most of his recordings are in this form.
That said, I also chose today’s track for metaphorical reasons as well. Considering it’s winter, and that I haven’t blogged for quite some time, I thought this entry would be able to “re-break” the ice that has formed between myself and this blog, as well as break the ice that is winter in general.
Whatever ice you seek to break however, Fats Waller’s “Breakin’ The Ice” is very symbolic of his work as an artist, and I hope you find this as enlightening as I did.
Enjoy, and keep swinging!
November 9th, 2011 - Narcissism Strikes Once Again!
Song: Honeysuckle Rose, Honeysuckle Rose
Original Artist: Fats Waller, Fats Waller
Performers: Fats Waller & His Rhythm, Josiah Ng (myself)
Location: Vol. 2, Disc 4, Track 4
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Hey everyone!
So here is today’s promised double entry!
I admit it was a struggle to decide whether to do a double entry today or not because I usually save double entries for major holidays or other occasions that merit exuberant celebration, but I feel that since I had recently completed a recording of Honeysuckle Rose, I thought it would fit in.
Honeysuckle Rose is one of Fats Waller’s most famous compositions, as it is one of the few of his songs that is still being played today, along with Ain’t Misbehavin’, Handful of Keys and other signatures. He makes several records of this song, but for those, we’ll have to get there when we get there.
I feel that the difference between Waller and I is huge. Although in the record, it is obvious that his singing has a long way to go in terms of sounding comfortable, his piano playing is exception, case in point when juxtaposed with mine. I feel like some of my ideas are questionable, that my control is lacking at times and that overall I just don’t play very well next to a recording of Fats playing his own song, and with a group at that.
I’ve been doing a lot of group jamming lately, and it’s not the easiest thing in the world. You have to know the song through and through to be able to play it, improvise on it and control it while listening to the other musicians to stay on rhythm. It’s multitasking at its finest, and I’m afraid I’m still learning the ropes.
This is a rather quickly written double entry, but this is due to the fact that I have a midterm that I must study for tomorrow. I hope you enjoy both versions of Honeysuckle Rose!
Enjoy, and keep swinging!
November 8th, 2011 - Anticipation once again
Song: You’re Not The Only Oyster In The Stew
Original Artist: Harold Spina (music), Johnny Burke (lyricist)
Performer: Fats Waller & His Rhythm
Location: Vol. 2, Disc 4, Track 3
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Hey everyone!
I’m beat.
It’s been a long day with tons of new challenges to face and my body isn’t taking to it too well. My grammar and spelling are taking hits although my writing right now isn’t showing it. Luckily, I’m still catching them errors.
I feel like the majority of “You’re Not The Only Oyster In The Stew” is about how there is always at least one person who loves you even when you’re down, and that belief is a godsend in my opinion.
When I first heard this song I assumed it would revolve around the concept of “there are many fish in the sea” and talk about that, but when Waller sings “You’re the only one for me” I realized it was about something else. Not the deepest of realizations but it changed my perception of this song.
That and I loved the way he phrased “English, Irish, Italians and Dutch”. I wouldn’t have done it right.
This is a short entry, partly because I’m not used to the time change yet, and I won’t get enough sleep for tomorrow, which I’m going to need.
I’m hoping to do a double entry tomorrow when something of mine uploads, so be ready for that.
I hope you enjoy waiting with “You’re Not The Only Oyster In The Stew”
Enjoy, and keep swinging!
November 7th, 2011 - Chill day.
Song: Mandy
Original Artist: Irving Berlin
Performer: Fats Waller & His Rhythm
Location: Vol. 2, Disc 4, Track 1
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Hey everyone!
It’s been a pretty lazy boring day for me. Had a math midterm and practiced piano for 6 hours total. Nothing could be more wonderful.
I think the most refreshing days are these, where your regular hectic life is put on hold and you can just tinker away at the piano at new material.
Speaking of new material, over the summer I bought an Irving Berlin fake book and it had “Mandy” in it. I was genuinely thrilled, because I had heard Fats’ recording of the song before and it was phenomenal. The way he played piano in this recording was just swinging and spectacular. It was one of my favorites.
I gave it a shot, naturally, to discover that when playing the tune for myself I could not reproduce any of the greatness. The distance between Waller and I is so wide that it was immediately noticeable when I had gotten through a few choruses of “Mandy”. His ideas, creativity and flexibility at the piano far outmatches my own. If I played at the speed of this recording, I could not play any of the ideas. If I played some of the ideas, they would be far too deliberate and therefore too slow to be enjoyed. I was appalled at my own lack of skill.
Now, Mandy is one of those recordings by Fats that I just cringe a bit to listen to. I realize how far I am from the creative genius that is Fats Waller, and every time I attempt Mandy, it is never as good as this, and as such I’m reluctant to play it in public, even if 90% of the audience has never heard this recording.
Waller is a genius. There is no way around it.
I hope you find Mandy as eye-opening as I did!
Enjoy, and keep swinging!
