Personnel include: Fats Waller (vocals, piano); Mezz Mezzrow (clarinet, alto saxophone); Gene Sedric (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Herman Autrey, Bill Coleman (trumpet); Billy Taylor (upright bass); Harry Dial, Zutty Singleton (drums); Jack Teagarden Orchestra.
Recording information: 1926 - 1943.
This spectacular 3-disc package is one of the definitive Fats Waller box sets on the market. It's packed back to front with Waller's indelible tunes (there are 22 tracks per disc), and the listener is treated to his original renditions of such classics as "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Honeysuckle Rose," and "The Joint Is Jumpin'." Waller's bounding stride-piano style is a house party unto itself, but it's his sly, winking delivery and comic timing that make the recordings irresistible. As a songwriter and piano player Waller remains one of jazz's finest, but it was as an entertainer that he defined his art, and that truth is supported by 66 first-rate examples on this beautifully compiled and packaged set.