Liner Notes from Cosmic Spy Music (by I.C., adapted from George Burrows):
The London Suite, comprising six piano pieces, each dedicated to London districts, was composed and recorded in 1939 by American pianist, entertainer, vocalist and bandleader Thomas "Fats" Waller (1904-1943). It is an unusual series of works, unlike anything else composed by this jazz icon.
Other than performing the suite himself in a London recording studio, Waller never got to hear the complete work performed by others or see it commercially released during his too-brief life. Wartime circumstances delayed the issuance of the recordings until 1951, eight years after Waller's premature death at age 39. In the late 1940s, before Waller's sides were heard publicly, British trombonist-bandleader Ted Heath obtained the piano score for the suite and, without having the original recordings for reference, produced an orchestrated swing version, which was issued in 1948 on a 78 rpm album by London Records. When Waller's piano versions were finally released, critics were confounded by its comparative lack of propulsive jazz energy, a quality offered in overdrive on Heath's orchestral interpretations.
Waller was a charismatic showman and a brilliant jazz stylist, who had refined his performance skills through Harlem "cutting" contests with the likes of stride piano giant James P. Johnson. He had become a professional organist at age 14, and begun recording at age 18 in 1922.
In trips to England aboard luxury ocean liners in July 1938 and March 1939, Waller sat in on piano with the ship's band, whose repertoire blended electrifying American jazz with more refined European styles. Waller reflected on his 1938 European tour: "Throughout the British Isles and Scandinavia, audiences like to listen. Unlike the jitterbugs in the U.S., they will often stop dancing as a band builds up to the climaxes. I never saw such an intelligent appreciation of swing. I think Europe's way is the right way, and I think it'll take over here, and I hope it does before we lose our eardrums."
The London Suite was Waller's musical testament, a sextet of serious, mood-inflected impressions. Writer Alyn Shipton noted, "Only one of these pieces (Piccadilly) is an up-tempo stride showstopper. The others are medium or slow in pace, and tread a narrow line between being as inconsequential as cocktail-bar music on the one hand and sending up the light classics on the other, while not failing to remain jazz performances." Scholar George Burrows called the London Suite "a hybrid musical style. Its mix of stylistic markers of hot jazz with melancholic sweet music that references European classical music made the suite distinctive in Waller's output and reflective of a hybrid musical aesthetic that came with his transatlantic musical tourism."
Waller's manager, Ed Kirkeby, described the suite's creation in 1950 correspondence: in 1939, during a tour of the Moss Empire Theatres, Fats had been commissioned by Jimmy Phillips of the Peter Maurice Music firm to write six piano solos. Kirkeby suggested he work on an idea of a descriptive portrayal of London life through well-known sections of the city, such as Piccadilly, Soho, and Limehouse. Waller composed and recorded the entire London Suite within the single hour allocated by the studio.
HMV withheld release of these recordings, and wartime shipping difficulties meant Victor did not release them stateside either. Waller's unexpected death in December 1943 compelled Kirkeby to push for their release, but RCA Victor informed him the masters had been destroyed in the London Blitz. Surviving demo discs, damaged but usable, were eventually remastered in October 1946, though poor source quality delayed commercial release further.
Heath's orchestral version appeared first, in 1948, resequencing the movements and replacing the melancholic, sweet-yet-serious tone of Waller's piano recording with a driven, hot-swing sensibility. It was an initial critical and commercial success, selling over a million copies, with a second Heath recording following in 1954. However, once Waller's original 1939 piano recordings became available for comparison, Heath's bombastic interpretation came to be judged as inauthentic and heavy-handed, and Waller was reassessed, posthumously, as a figure capable of serious music that transcended the flamboyant and comedic entertainment which had largely defined his public image.
https://cosmicspy.bandcamp.com/album/the-london-suite-and-assorted-rarities
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Notas del sello de Cosmic Spy Music (por I.C., adaptado de George Burrows):
The London Suite, compuesta por seis piezas para piano, cada una dedicada a un distrito de Londres, fue compuesta y grabada en 1939 por el pianista, artista, cantante y director de banda estadounidense Thomas "Fats" Waller (1904-1943). Es una serie de obras inusual, distinta de cualquier otra cosa compuesta por este icono del jazz.
Ademas de interpretar la suite el mismo en un estudio de grabacion de Londres, Waller nunca llego a escuchar la obra completa interpretada por otros ni a verla publicada comercialmente durante su breve vida. Las circunstancias de la guerra retrasaron la publicacion de las grabaciones hasta 1951, ocho anos despues de la prematura muerte de Waller. A fines de los anos 40, antes de que las grabaciones de Waller se escucharan publicamente, el trombonista y director de banda britanico Ted Heath obtuvo la partitura de piano de la suite y, sin contar con las grabaciones originales como referencia, produjo una version orquestada de swing, publicada en 1948 en un album de 78 rpm por London Records. Cuando finalmente se publicaron las versiones de piano de Waller, los criticos se mostraron desconcertados por su relativa falta de energia jazzistica propulsiva, una cualidad que las interpretaciones orquestales de Heath ofrecian en exceso.
Waller fue un showman carismatico y un brillante estilista del jazz, que habia refinado sus habilidades interpretativas en los "cutting contests" de Harlem junto a gigantes del stride piano como James P. Johnson. Se convirtio en organista profesional a los 14 anos y comenzo a grabar a los 18, en 1922.
En sus viajes a Inglaterra a bordo de transatlanticos de lujo en julio de 1938 y marzo de 1939, Waller toco el piano junto a la banda del barco, cuyo repertorio combinaba el electrizante jazz estadounidense con estilos europeos mas refinados. Waller reflexiono sobre su gira europea de 1938: "En todas las Islas Britanicas y Escandinavia, al publico le gusta escuchar. A diferencia de los jitterbugs en EE.UU., a menudo dejan de bailar cuando una banda construye hacia los climax. Nunca vi una apreciacion tan inteligente del swing. Creo que la manera europea es la correcta, y creo que se impondra aqui, y espero que lo haga antes de que perdamos los timpanos."
The London Suite fue el testamento musical de Waller, un sexteto de impresiones serias, cargadas de estado de animo. El escritor Alyn Shipton senalo: "Solo una de estas piezas (Piccadilly) es un numero de stride animado y de gran lucimiento. Las demas son de tempo medio o lento, y caminan en una linea estrecha entre ser tan intrascendentes como la musica de bar de cocteles, por un lado, y parodiar la musica clasica ligera, por el otro, sin dejar de ser interpretaciones de jazz." El academico George Burrows llamo a la suite "un estilo musical hibrido. Su mezcla de marcadores estilisticos del jazz caliente con musica melancolica y dulce que hace referencia a la musica clasica europea hizo que la suite fuera distintiva dentro de la produccion de Waller y reflejara una estetica musical hibrida surgida de su turismo musical transatlantico."
El representante de Waller, Ed Kirkeby, describio la creacion de la suite en correspondencia de 1950: en 1939, durante una gira por los teatros Moss Empire, Fats habia sido contratado por Jimmy Phillips de la firma Peter Maurice Music para escribir seis solos de piano. Kirkeby le sugirio trabajar sobre una idea de retrato descriptivo de la vida londinense a traves de barrios conocidos de la ciudad, como Piccadilly, Soho y Limehouse. Waller compuso y grabo la suite completa en la unica hora asignada por el estudio.
HMV retuvo la publicacion de estas grabaciones, y las dificultades de envio durante la guerra impidieron que Victor las publicara tampoco en Estados Unidos. La inesperada muerte de Waller en diciembre de 1943 impulso a Kirkeby a presionar por su publicacion, pero RCA Victor le informo que los masters habian sido destruidos durante el Blitz de Londres. Los discos de demostracion sobrevivientes, danados pero utilizables, fueron finalmente remasterizados en octubre de 1946, aunque la mala calidad de la fuente retraso aun mas su publicacion comercial.
La version orquestal de Heath aparecio primero, en 1948, reordenando los movimientos y reemplazando el tono melancolico, dulce y a la vez serio de la grabacion de piano de Waller por una sensibilidad de swing mas impulsiva. Fue un exito critico y comercial inicial, vendiendo mas de un millon de copias, con una segunda grabacion de Heath en 1954. Sin embargo, una vez que las grabaciones originales de piano de Waller de 1939 estuvieron disponibles para comparacion, la interpretacion bombastica de Heath paso a considerarse poco autentica y excesiva, y Waller fue reevaluado, postumamente, como una figura capaz de musica "seria" que trascendia el entretenimiento flamante y comico que habia definido en gran medida su imagen publica.
https://cosmicspy.bandcamp.com/album/the-london-suite-and-assorted-rarities
1 - The London Suite Pt. 1 - Piccadilly
2 - The London Suite Pt. 2 - Chelsea
3 - The London Suite Pt. 3 - Soho
4 - The London Suite Pt. 4 - Bond Street
5 - The London Suite Pt. 5 - Limehouse
6 - The London Suite Pt. 6 - Whitechapel
7 - Ain't Misbehavin' (Pipe Organ)
8 - The Flat Foot Floogie
9 - A-Tisket A-Tasket
10 - All God's Chillun Got Wings (Pipe Organ)
11 - Smoke Dreams of You (Vocal with Pipe Organ)
12 - That Old Feeling (feat. Adelaide Hall) (Vocal with Pipe Organ)
13 - Pent Up in a Penthouse
14 - Lonesome Road (Pipe Organ)
15 - Deep River (Pipe Organ)
16 - Go Down Moses (Pipe Organ)
17 - Water Boy (Pipe Organ)
18 - Don't Try Your Jive on Me (Pipe Organ)
19 - Music Maestro Please
20 - I've Got My Fingers Crossed
Credits:
Fats Waller - Piano, Pipe Organ
Adelaide Hall - Vocals (track 12)
The London Suite composed and recorded in London, 1939
Liner Notes: I.C. (adapted from "Transatlantic Re-soundings: Fats Waller's London Suite and the Jazz Atlantic" by George Burrows, Atlantic Studies, Vol. 15, No. 3, July 2018)
Label: Cosmic Spy Music
Country: US
Released: April 8, 2022
Genre: Jazz
Style: Stride, Swing, Chamber Jazz, Solo Piano
Duration: 57:22
Sources:
https://cosmicspy.bandcamp.com/album/the-london-suite-and-assorted-rarities
https://open.spotify.com/album/7cbZzCEE0RwZkvYll0MFi7
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