About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller only worked together twice, briefly in 1925 in Erskine Tate's band and four years later in the New York revue Connie's Hot Chocolates. But Waller made an indelible enough impression for Satchmo to record the tribute album Satch Plays Fats: The Music of Fats Waller in 1955 when such ideas were new. The original nine-track lineup forms the centerpiece of the reissue, with Armstrong ably supported by his All-Stars on such classics as "Honeysuckle Rose," "Squeeze Me," and "Ain't Misbehavin'." But this reissue delivers over twice the tracks of the original LP issue, with four edited alternate takes from the same session, plus seven more tracks of Waller material recorded by Armstrong in the 1920s and '30s. The mid-'50s was a fertile time for Armstrong and coupled with the '20s and '30s bonus tracks, this makes for a stellar overall package. [In 2000 Columbia/Legacy remastered and reissued Satch Plays Fats: The Music of Fats Waller with 11 bonus tracks, four of which are alternate takes.] Cub Koda, All Music Guide

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