Fats Waller

Thomas 'Fats' Waller was a brilliant Harlem musical prodigy, mentored on the piano by James P. Johnson and becoming one of the first musicians to play jazz on the pipe organ. Beneath his rolling eyes, bowler hat, and irresistible comedic wit lay one of the most formidable, rhythmically propulsive left-hand stride piano techniques in music history.

Waller was a prolific songwriting genius, composing timeless hits like 'Ain't Misbehavin'', 'Honeysuckle Rose', and 'Jitterbug Waltz'. With his small group, 'Fats Waller and His Rhythm', he recorded hundreds of sparkling 78 rpm records. He died of pneumonia aboard the Santa Fe Chief train near Kansas City at age thirty-nine.