Fats Waller

Fats Waller (born May 21, 1904, New York City, New York, U.S.—died December 15, 1943, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.) was an American pianist and composer who was one of the few outstanding jazz musicians to win wide commercial fame, though this was achieved at a cost of obscuring his purely musical ability under a cloak of broad comedy. He contributed several timeless songs, including “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Honeysuckle Rose,” to the Great American Songbook, the...