EKE BBB Posted August 22, 2006 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 (edited) Stephen Taylor, author of "Fats Waller On The Air: The Radio Broadcasts and Discography" (Scarecrow Press), has just reported of this release on another list. "Fats Waller, The Complete Recorded Works. Volume 2: A Handful Of Keys" on JSP928 is out now. These series, remastered by Ted Kendall, will cover all the Fats Waller commercial issues with a total of 24 CDs. The first set (vol. 2) is for 1929-1934 and the next issue will cover up to 1928 (and hopefully it should be released soon). Ted Kendall has used original recordings and includes tracks either not issued (alternate takes) or only issued on 78 rpm. Steven Lasker provided copies of vinyl test pressings for some of the early organ and piano sides, with better sound quality than other issues. Stephen Taylor also provided copies of rare recordings from his own collection. I think this is great news for us Fats Waller collectors: having all the commercial sides in one collection, with (hopefully) good remastering... At least for me, it will mean a lot of duplication (I have about 25 CDs of Fats Waller... and I´ve spent a lot of money to get all the Bluebird "Fats Waller And His Rhythm" box sets!), but it will cover some gaps in my collection. EDIT: to correct the number of Fats Waller CDs that I already have... I was exaggerating! Edited August 22, 2006 by EKE BBB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKE BBB Posted August 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John L Posted August 22, 2006 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 Wow. I didn't even realize that this was going on. The availability of Fats' recordings in recent years has been patchy at best. It will be great to have the whole ball of wax together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAL Posted August 22, 2006 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 I'll have to get this material all over again just for improved sound, if sold at the regular JSP budget price. The Classics series is terribly uneven and difficult to listen to at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKE BBB Posted August 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 I'll have to get this material all over again just for improved sound, if sold at the regular JSP budget price. The Classics series is terribly uneven and difficult to listen to at times. Same here. I have real hard times to listen to the Fats Waller´s 1920s material in the Classics series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted August 22, 2006 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 This is wonderful news! Long overdue. Bout time I got rid of my various Black and White vinyls from French RCA that were issued several decades ago! Kept away from the Fats Wallers Classics when I found out about the poor sound on those releases. Let's hope Ted Kendall will do justice to the audio of these sides! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted August 22, 2006 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 Well, Ted Kendall does really good work, these should sound nice. Too bad Victor didn't do this themselves, or have Mosaic do this. . . . I have a lot of King Jazz cds that I really enjoy that are looking scared on the shelf now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted August 26, 2006 Report Share Posted August 26, 2006 This is wonderful news! Long overdue. Bout time I got rid of my various Black and White vinyls from French RCA that were issued several decades ago! Kept away from the Fats Wallers Classics when I found out about the poor sound on those releases. Let's hope Ted Kendall will do justice to the audio of these sides! Same here. If Ted Kendall does for Fats' recordings what he did for Django's, I can free up some shelf space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAL Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Still don't see any sign of the JSPs at my regular stores... Anyone has this 3-disc set, not the JSP, but apparently a recent RCA release? ~66 tracks in all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKE BBB Posted October 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Another recent Fats Waller release, from our Andorran friends: FATS WALLER: COMPLETE VICTOR PIANO SOLOS (Definitive/Disconforme) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montg Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 (edited) Still don't see any sign of the JSPs at my regular stores... Anyone has this 3-disc set, not the JSP, but apparently a recent RCA release? ~66 tracks in all here's an npr feature on this new disc from sony/rca: fatswaller Edited October 6, 2006 by montg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 The JSP/Ted Kentall box is out here. Waiting for someone to confirm the sound is really good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Still don't see any sign of the JSPs at my regular stores... Release date given on CD Universe is Tuesday, Oct. 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Rat Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Still don't see any sign of the JSPs at my regular stores... Anyone has this 3-disc set, not the JSP, but apparently a recent RCA release? ~66 tracks in all here's an npr feature on this new disc from sony/rca: fatswaller We've got this at the station, and I think it's the best collection I've seen in terms of song selection (some of his own comps, good stuff he did by other composers (e.g. Sit Right Down), bad stuff by others he completely demolished (e.g. Panic Is On), keyboard pieces). A pretty good one-stop for people (unlike me) who don't feel they need EVERYTHING, but would like a lot of facets of Waller's talent represented. Reefer Song conspicuously missing, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 What does volume 1 look like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tatifan Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 What does volume 1 look like? I went searching for (I'm assuming you mean JSP?) Vol. 1, and they seem to have started with Vol. 2! I've got mine coming from Wherehouse.som, with the extra 30% off (code: bigsale) it's a steal. Finally picked up the Bear Family Nat King Cole tome for about $161 too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKE BBB Posted October 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 What does volume 1 look like? I went searching for (I'm assuming you mean JSP?) Vol. 1, and they seem to have started with Vol. 2! I've got mine coming from Wherehouse.som, with the extra 30% off (code: bigsale) it's a steal. Finally picked up the Bear Family Nat King Cole tome for about $161 too!! Yes, volume 1 (covering up to 1928) will be the next one to be out. Guess they released volume 2 first because they managed to get all the material and do the remastering first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKE BBB Posted October 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 ... Anyone has this 3-disc set, not the JSP, but apparently a recent RCA release? ~66 tracks in all Quoted from the Fats Waller Yahoo group: Bluebird/Legacy have issued a new 3xCD box set 82876-81125-2 "If You Got To Ask, You Ain't Got It", produced by Orrin Keepnews. The set includes a previously unissued Take-2 of "Hold Tight [Want Some Sea Food Mama". This is not one of my favourite numbers, but any "new" material is more than welcome. Extensive liner notes by Dan Morgenstern include many rare and previously unpublished photos from the Frank Driggs collection and the Ed Kirkeby collection at the Institute of Jazz Studies, including the 1943 "Last photo" of Fats which I've copied to the photo section (under "Victor catalog"). On Monday 13th December 1943, Fats boarded the Santa Fe's Super Chief train from Los Angeles en route to New York for a well-earned rest and to spend Christmas with his family. The train was due to depart at mid-day, and that night there was a party on the train. Fats slept all the next day and died around 5 am on the morning of Wednesday 15th December from influenzal bronchial pneumonia, as the train was pulling into Kansas City station. Thus, the "Last photo" must have been taken either on Monday 13th or Tuesday 14th December. The sound restoration is quite good but the source material is not stated. The liner notes contain a number of errors on matrix take numbers, which is not unusual for Bluebird/RCA (and other issues). Stephen Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 Got the JSP volume 2 set and it's a really good job! I have listened to a few selected tracks to check the audio and must say I am very satisfied with what I hear. John R.T. Davies started working on the project until the Grim Reaper caught up with him. Ted Kendall has done good on this. Will be waiting for Volume 1 now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 Thanks for offering your take, brownie. I'm sure it's a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 Another plus to this collection is that it does look quite complete. The alternate takes are gathered on disc 4 so if anybody is bothered by those takes, there is no need to skip them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalo Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 The alternate takes are gathered on disc 4 so if anybody is bothered by those takes, there is no need to skip them. I think I'll be getting this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted October 15, 2006 Report Share Posted October 15, 2006 The alternate takes are gathered on disc 4 so if anybody is bothered by those takes, there is no need to skip them. I think I'll be getting this. Me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 Does this series cover ALL his works (i.e. including those tracks recorded during his stay in Britain, for example, that I think were not included in the various French RCA box sets and Black & White single LP's from the 70s?) I, for one, won't get rid of this good old vinyl, that's for sure, but maybe the British tracks will make it to a separate CD in the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 Volume 2 which is the first of the series to be issued includes ALL sides on which Fats Waller appears from the March 1, 1929 session to the November 7, 1934 one. As mentioned before, volume 1 which should have the sessions up to early 1929 should be out next. If it (and the next volumes) is as thorough and enjoyable as volume 2, I plan to get them all. And discard the French RCA issues which were a bit of a mess! The sides Fats Waller recorded in Britain were not included in the French vinyl collection because they had not been recorded for RCA. The JSP vol. 2 includes everything (RCA, Okeh, etc... sides). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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