Take Two
Where we take two different jazz interpretations of a song
The Jitterbug Waltz
The Jitterbug Waltz was composed and first recorded by Fats Waller in 1942. There is something about this tune that clearly appeals to musicians from many styles of jazz - Art Tatum, Erroll Garner, Eric Dolphy to name a few. Apparently, the melody was inspired by piano exercises that Fats Waller's son, Maurice, had been playing. In some ways the title is a contradiction in terms as yes, it is in waltz time, but the Jitterbug is defined as "a strenuously acrobatic dance consisting of a few standardized steps augmented by twirls, splits, somersaults, etc., popular especially in the early 1940s and performed chiefly to boogie-woogie and swing." Here is a video to give you the idea.
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The recording by Fats Waller and his Rhythm and Orchestra had Fats on organ and it is claimed that this could have been one of the first jazz records ever recorded with a Hammond organ.
Our second take comes from a session 65 years later when Bobby Hutcherson's Quartet played Jitterbug Waltz at the Jazz Baltica Festival in Germany in 2007. Bobby Hutcherson was a master of the vibraphone and here he is with Joe Gilman (piano); Dwayne Burno (bass) and Eddie Marshall (drums). One YouTube commentator says: "Leave it to Bobby Hutcherson to breathe new life into this old standard. I once saw him in Philadelphia; along the river a tugboat blasted its horn, interfering with the music. But Bobby played that note again, then over and over again, in time to the beat. Then he exclaimed something like "That's a Bad Note"! What a fantastic musician he was!"
© Sandy Brown Jazz 2025.10