Pianist, singer and songwriter, Thomas “Fats” Waller was one of the legendary and unique personalities of early jazz and the swing era, an artist with an unmistakably distinctive style and a way with a song whose work transcended the different strands of jazz that emerged during the 20 years or so when he established his reputation and enjoyed all his success as a recording artist. He was renowned as an influential innovator of the Harlem style of stride piano, but also became famous playing the organ and celeste on his sessions. Recording both solo and in small groups, and equally well-known and loved for his instrumental and vocal recordings, he had over 60 hits between 1929 and 1943, when he died suddenly from pneumonia at the tragically early age of 39. This great-value 75-track 3-CD collection contains all those hits plus selected other recordings which are among his most highly-regarded and popular work. It naturally features the recordings for which he is best-known, including his No. 1s with “Truckin’”, “A Little Bit Independent”, “All My Life”, “It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie”, “Smarty” and “Two Sleepy People and classics like “Honeysuckle Rose”, “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter”. It’s a substantial and enjoyable showcase for one of the great personalities of jazz.
