Ain't Misbehavin' [Laserlight] (CD - 1995)

Personnel: Fats Waller (vocals, piano); Hot Lips Page (vocals, trumpet); Gene Sedric (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Bud Freeman (tenor saxophone); John Hamilton, Herman Autry, Louis Armstrong (trumpet); Jack Teagarden (trombone); Al Casey (guitar); Charles Turner, Cedric Wallace (bass); Arnold Bolden, Slick Jones, Zutty Singleton, Arthur Trappier (drums).

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller was one of the first jazz figures to popularize "hot" music. His technical brilliance as a pianist, inventiveness as a melodic improviser, loose and affable personality as a singer, and ebullience as an entertainer make him a singular and shining talent of the early jazz era. Though most of Waller's recordings date from the '30s and '40s, legend has it that he had already developed his unique and highly influential style by as early as 1920.

AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' is a fine sampler of Waller's art. The disc includes such original compositions as the title track, "Honeysuckle Rose," and "Old Grand Dad." Many of these are now considered classics. Covering such gems as Waller's wry improvisation, "Blues For Two In B Flat," the spiritual "Go Down Moses," and a blazing rendition of "I Got Rhythm" (with Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden sitting in), AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' is a treasure. minimize