On the eve of World War Two, Fats Waller was, after Louis Armstrong, the jazz musician and jazz entertainer best known and most loved by the American and English populations at large. In recent years, however, Waller's reputation has declined, possibly because the jazz canon has room for only one cut-up: Armstrong. The recent issuing on three compact discs of Waller's alternative takes (1923-41)[*] means that all his recordings are available concurrently for the first time, which makes this an ideal moment for a reappraisal of the artist - a term Waller wouldn't have used.

LRB 9 May 2002 | PDF Download