A Handful of Keys

Composed by
Thomas "Fats" Waller
Arranged by
Jock McKenzie
Price
£ 20.00 

This terrific showstopper comes from the musical revue Ain't Misbehavin’,

Welcome to Skool of Brass

  • For Conductors, Teachers and/or Students
  • Percussion Backing Tracks to accompany Superbrass Educational Material
  • Backing Tracks are Free to Download
  • We always use 4 bars of Introduction before each tune starts (unless otherwise stated)
  • Turn your Practice into a Performance and have fun !
  • Part 1 in Bb
  • Part 2 in Bb
  • Part 3 in F, Eb, C and Bb
  • Part 4 in Eb, C and Bb
  • All Alternative Transposed Parts Included

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Description

A Handful of Keys is a composition in the stride piano style by Fats Waller and originally published by Chappel & Co. The piece has been the subject of a large number of interpretations, mostly for piano solo, but sometimes also with lyrics. This terrific showstopper comes from the musical revue Ain't Misbehavin’, co-written by Waller, Harry Brooks, Andy Razaf and others. This musical is a tribute to the black musicians of the 1920s and 1930s who were part of the Harlem Renaissance, an era of growing creativity, cultural awareness and ethnic pride. It was a time when Manhattan nightclubs like the Cotton Club and the Savoy Ballroom were the playgrounds of high society and were filled with piano players banging out the newest tunes in a swing style. The revue presented an evening of rowdy, raunchy, and humorous songs that encapsulated the various moods of the era and reflected a view of life as a journey meant for pleasure and play.

Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 1904 – December 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid the groundwork for modern jazz piano. His best-known compositions, "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose", were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1984 and 1999. Waller was the youngest of 11 children born to Adeline Locket Waller, a musician, and the Reverend Edward Martin Waller in New York City. He started playing the piano when he was six and graduated to playing the organ at his father's church. His mother taught him in his youth and he later attended private music lessons, paying for them by working in a local grocery store. Waller became one of the most popular performers of his era, finding critical and commercial success both in the USA and Europe. He was also a prolific songwriter, and many songs he wrote are still popular.

“Under the Spell of Spain is an extraordinary CD, in company with the finest large brass ensemble recordings ever made. This is a must buy CD!”

Don Lucas
Boston University writing in the International Trombone Association Journal

“The CD is just fabulous. The ensemble playing is fantastic; the tightness of the ensemble is amazing; the balance and dynamics are just brilliant.”

Philip Biggs
The Brass Herald

“The arrangements all sound fresh, and the playing is beyond reproach.”

Dr. Gavin Dixon
Classical CD Reviews

“Exploding onto the brass music scene with their debut album ‘Under the Spell of Spain’, the depth of versatility and virtuosity within the ranks of Superbrass has firmly secured it's place as one of the greatest large brass ensembles of all time”

Tom Davoren
Brass Band World

“Wow! What a great CD. The playing is superb”

Dr. Robert Childs
Musical Director, Cory Band

"WOW !!!!! all of you should be locked up !!!! What great stuff - the compositions/arrangements, the playing (OUTRAGEOUS !!! ), everything is simply fantastic. (actually - i couldn't have expected anything less ! ) Many, many thanks to you and all for your superb contributions. yet again, you've managed to raise the bar! (an inch or two is ok but a few yards is really unfair !!!!!!!!!! )"

Jiggs Whigham
International Jazz Trombone Soloist, Musical Director, BBC Big Band, President International Trombone Association and Professor Hanns Eisler College of Music, Berlin

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