Hines Earl Fatha - Selected Piano Solos 1928-1941

Edited by Jeffrey Taylor
As accompanist, ensemble player, and soloist, Earl 'Fatha' Hines (1903'83) revolutionized the role of the piano in jazz. This publication focuses on his solo artistry and includes complete transcriptions of twelve solo recordings made by Hines between 1928 and 1941. These pieces show how Hines integrated stride, blues, novelty piano, and Western classical music with the work of other improvising soloists (especially trumpeter Louis Armstrong) to develop an innovative and highly personal style that continues to influence jazz pianists today. The thirteen-year span of the edition will allow scholars to trace the development of Hines's improvisational approach and evaluate how Hines adapted to the changing stylistic language of the 1930s and early 1940s. Alternate versions of two improvisations are included to show how Hines approached the same tune in subsequent performances. A tune history, discography, and stylistic commentary for each piece is provided, as well as a prefatory essay examining Hines's life and career, his piano style, and his role in the development of the jazz piano solo as a genre.
Contents:
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Earl 'Fatha' Hines and the Art of the Jazz Piano Solo .
Introduction
Life
Earl Hines and the Jazz Piano Solo
Ridin,' Jivin,' and Signifyin'
Stride Piano and 'Fats' Waller
Novelty Piano and Clarence M. Jones
'I'm Too Technical to Play the Blues'
A Word About Louis Armstrong
'New Orleans Style' and 'Jelly Roll' Morton
Piano Man
Plates
Recording Sessions
I. QRS Recording Session (Long Island, N.Y., ca. 1 December 1928)
1. Blues in Thirds
2. Stowaway
II. Okeh Recording Session (Chicago, 9 December 1928)
1. Caution Blues
2. A Monday Date
III. Okeh Recording Session (Chicago, 12 December 1928)
1. I Ain't Got Nobody
2. Fifty-Seven Varieties
IV. Victor/Bluebird Recording Session (Chicago, 25 February 1929)
1. Glad Rag Doll [Take 1]
V. Brunswick Recording Session (New York, 14 July 1932)
1. Love Me Tonight [Take 2]
2. Down Among the Sheltering Palms [Take 1]
VI. Bluebird Recording Session (New York, 6 October 1939)
1. Rosetta [Take 3]
2. Rosetta [Take 4]
VII. Victor/Bluebird Recording Session (New York, 3 April 1941)
1. On the Sunny Side of the Street [Take 2]
Apparatus
A Case for Transcription
Transcription Method
A Note to Performers
Editorial Markings
Critical Commentary
Literature Cited