Fats Waller was a blazing star, one of the very few besides Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman who could guarantee a packed house, a large radio audience or a hit record in 1930s and 1940s jazz. He wrote two of the most durable songs in American music, "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose", as well as other gems such as "Squeeze Me", "I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling", "Black and Blue" and "The Jitterbug Waltz". In addition, he was one helluva piano player. HighNote offers a selection of rare, unsaturated Fats playing and singing at the piano and even a few organ solos thrown in (could Fats Waller be the first great jazz organist, spawning the likes of Jimmy Smith, Don Patterson, Charles Earland and others?). Fats was at the peak of his powers and his popularity when these recordings were made in 1939. Unavailable in any format since 1979, "Fine Arabian Stuff" is an important addition to the discography of one of the most beloved figures in jazz history.

Fats Waller- piano/organ

Tracks: Oh, Dem Golden Slippers; When You and I Were Young, Maggie; Oh! Susannah; The Old Golden Bucket; Annie Laurie; She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain; Hallelujah, I'm a Bum!; Frankie and Johnny; Hand Me Down My Walkin' Cane; Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; Deep River; The Lord Delivered Daniel; Go Down Moses; Loch Lomond; Swaltzing With Faust; Intermezzo.

 She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain

 Frankie and Johnny

 Intermezzo