Search - Fats Waller :: Fats Waller

The price is right

"Gimpy" Peach Johnson | 12/15/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As far as reissues of vintage recordings go, this one is pretty lame. Fats Waller was a phenomenal pianist I admire very much and I treasure those recordings of his I have. That said, this particular CD is by no means "essential listening." Many of the recordings seem to be radio broadcasts or live appearances, although the very, very brief liner notes that accompany the disc give no indication where the recordings come from. Personnels are listed for each track, but no recording dates or locations are given. Generally, the remastering on the disc is good, and the tracks are pleasant to listen to. I don't detect any annoying digital artefacts, and surface noise is not noticeable here. Still, the recordings seem somewhat dull-sounding, and the CD's volume level is quite low, meaning I have to crank up the volume on the stereo a couple notches from normal. Most of the pieces are *not* solos, they're with a small jazz ensemble (drums, trumpet, sax, piano, etc.). I do like the solo piano version of "Ain't Misbehavin'" included here and "A Thousand Dreams Of You" is quite nice. The disc is short, clocking out at just under 30 minutes, but I suppose you get what you pay for. If you like Fats Waller, you may want to pick this up if you're ordering something else, but don't go out of your way to buy it. There are far better Fats Waller sets out there."