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Eben Goresko on Mason
& Hamlin,
Fats Waller
and Stride
"My love of pianos and piano playing
is what has driven me my whole life.
I am blessed to own my Mason and
Hamlin, AA, circa 1907. I find
myself playing some of the best
piano music ever on one of the best
instruments ever made.”
“Over the past several years, I have
concentrated my efforts in learning
the style and music of the great
early jazz (stride masters),
especially Thomas “Fats” Waller. His
music is the true, original jazz
that all the later styles of jazz
grew from. Within the crucible of
Waller’s music you find mostly all
the essential elements of jazz in
its purest form.”
Wallers significance to jazz can not
be understated. All the jazz greats,
Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Art
Tatum and Mingus (later) developed
their styles from Wallers music. And
that is not to mention the hundreds
of tunes that he wrote that
currently form bedrock of the jazz
repertoire.
“Five years ago, I set out to master
the stride style, the core of jazz.
I discovered that style it in
Waller. I have always been the
contrarian in my tastes and artistic
choices. You will find that the jazz
pianists who have mastered Wallers
music to be few and far between.
That is a shame but I am happy to
fill the void.”
What is stride? Why is it so loud?
Stride is not up tempo ragtime.
Some stride is loud. Major hits such
as Handful of Keys, Carolina Shout,
Blue Black Bottom are loud. These
upbeat solos are characterized by
high energy and momentum. Rhythm is
a profoundly important element of
stride, to some extent, I suspect
that loudness can be interpreted as
the missing drum beat for which the
left hand is compensating in high
energy solos. Stride became
prominent, during the great
depression where in many cases there
was not a budget to accommodate the
employment of full musical groups,
so this loudness may be to some
degree as compensation for a missing
drummer in order to maintain that
high energy level.
There are many stride masterpieces
that are more tranquil and tonally
and emotionally nuanced such as
Rocking Chair, I Ain’t Got Nobody
and many more.
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