Thomas "Fats" Waller - California Here I Come 1935 (Fast Stride Piano Synthesia)
Transcribed by Paul Marcorelles from @blueblackjazz
Fats Waller's 1935 California, Here I Come is fast stride piano taken at a brisk clip from the first bar. Waller began recording in 1922 and made his early living at rent parties, as an organist at movie theatres and as an accompanist for vaudeville acts, before writing the score for the Broadway hit Hot Chocolates with lyrics supplied by Andy Razaf. In this Synthesia video the falling notes show the left hand holding its bass-and-chord alternation steady while the right hand fills every gap with tremolos, grace notes and runs. That contrast between a metronomic left hand and a busy right is the core of the style. Isolate the bass line and the video doubles as a stride piano tutorial.
check out the transcription: https://blueblackjazz.com/en/transcri...
And of course check out his site for all available transcriptions: https://www.blueblackjazz.com
Original recording: • California Here I Come
(Source: https://syncopatedtimes.com/fats-wall...)
🔗 CHANNELS CREDITED IN THIS VIDEO
► @blueblackjazz: / @blueblackjazz
🎼 ABOUT THOMAS "FATS" WALLER
Thomas "Fats" Waller (1904-1943) was born in Harlem, the son of a Baptist preacher, and was playing the pipe organ in his father's church before he was old enough to work. By fifteen he had theatre and cabaret jobs, and he became the prize pupil of James P. Johnson, who handed him the stride tradition directly. Waller turned it into popular entertainment: "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose" became permanent standards, "Handful of Keys" and "Viper's Drag" remain benchmarks of stride technique, and his mugging, wisecracking records made him one of the best-loved entertainers of the 1930s. He died of pneumonia on a train near Kansas City at only thirty-nine. Behind the comedy sat a formidable musician; Art Tatum, Count Basie and Thelonious Monk all took something from him, and anyone learning stride learns it partly through his hands.
Rock-solid stride: a wide, unhurried left hand alternating tenths and mid-range chords, so steady you could set a clock by it. The right hand answers with clean, singable melody, tremolos and grace-note flourishes rather than blizzards of notes. Warm swing, relaxed tempos, plenty of air between the notes.
🎹 TURN ANY PIANO RECORDING INTO MIDI
Want to learn this piece — or any recording — with falling notes like in this video? I built Transcribe by Midiverse: upload audio and it becomes MIDI with left/right hand separation, a falling-notes practice mode, slow-down and looping. Free to start:
► https://transcribe.midiverse.ai
🔎 MORE PIANO SYNTHESIA ON THIS CHANNEL
► Thomas "Fats" Waller Piano Synthesia Playlist (81 videos): • Thomas "Fats" Waller Piano Synthesia Playl...
► All my jazz, stride and ragtime piano videos: • All my Jazz / Stride Piano / Ragtime Piano...
📸 Instagram: / its.remco
🤖 Reddit: / its_remco
🎹 Midiverse on Instagram: / midiverse.official
ABOUT THIS CHANNEL
itsRemco is a piano Synthesia channel dedicated to Harlem stride piano, the powerful left-hand style of James P. Johnson, Fats Waller and Willie "The Lion" Smith. Every video shows the notes falling in real time so you can see exactly what both hands are playing, learn by ear and eye together, and practise along at your own pace. Subscribe for new piano transcriptions every week.
#fatswaller #californiahereicome #stridepiano #faststride #harlemstride #pianosynthesia #fallingnotes #pianotutorial #swingpiano #classicjazz #earlyjazz #solopiano #midipiano #pianocover #jazzmusic