Fats Waller (1904-1943) was a pianist, organist, and composer who shaped American jazz and popular music across three decades. His virtuosic keyboard technique, infectious sense of swing, and gift for melody made him one of the most recorded artists of the 1930s and early 1940s. Beyond his performing brilliance, Waller composed prolifically, leaving behind standards that remain essential to the jazz repertoire and continue to teach musicians about voice leading, harmony, and rhythmic sophistication.
As an educator's resource, Waller's work demonstrates how jazz piano functions as both a compositional and improvisational art. His pieces reveal the interplay between stride piano traditions and emerging swing idioms, offering students insight into a pivotal moment in American music history.
