JOHN FARRELL - THE JAZZ MASTER

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Now for the MIDI files, here they are, enjoy.

Several of these have not yet been converted to piano roll, I have put a note against the affected titles.

1. Roll 'Em (A boogie-woogie piece by Mary Lou Williams) 

2. Sensation  (A perennial traditional jazz favourite)

3. Ragtime Nightingale (A Joseph Lamb rag - I have given it a little jazz treatment) The score for this is not available.

4.Canadian Capers (a neat mixture of jazz, ragtime and novelty piano)

5.I Ain't Gonna Tell Nobody (one of my Don Ewell transcriptions)

6.Just Gone (a King Oliver tune - another of my Don Ewell transcriptions)

7.Beale Street Blues (a lowdown, sassy, raunchy blues - the kind men like!)

8.Changes (a neat Walter Donaldson composition with an unusual chord progression)

9.Atlanta Blues (also known as "Make Me A Pallet On The Floor")

10.Cushion Foot Stomp (a Clarence Williams tune often played by jazz bands)

11.Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (one of Jerome Kern's most attractive ballads. I've added a little spice to it - but not too much!)

12.What's The Reason (I'm Not Pleasin' You) (a snappy stomper associated with (but not composed by) one of my heroes, the great Fats Waller)

13. Walleritis (composed by Don Ewell - I transcribed this from a recording he made with the Jack Teagarden Band) Sorry, no score or piano roll for this one.

14.I Never Knew (That Roses Grew) (if stride piano is your thing, this is for you)

15.Worried And Lonesome Blues (I transcribed this from the famous James P. Johnson recording)

16.Fascination (another James P. Johnson tune, this one is my arrangement)

17.Willie The Weeper (my arrangement again - this one is for fans of the Jelly Roll Morton style of piano playing)

18.Jacksonville Gal (a neat tune by Fred Rose which I recently heard for the first time - I liked it so much that I decided to make this piano arrangement of it)

19.St. Louis Gal (another "Gal" tune, this one composed by J. Russel Robinson of ODJB fame. She's a cute little number!)

20.Dog Town Blues (written by the celebrated bassist/composer Bob Haggart, who designated the tempo as "Slow Drag" - I'm not sure what that means so I've used a gentle loping speed and thrown in a little boogiewoogie here and there.) Piano roll not available.

21.All The Things You Are (One of Jerome Kern's most attractive tunes which I transcribed from an Art Tatum recording. Because of Tatum's elaborate filigree stylings nobody, but nobody can copy Tatum's playing absolutely accurately but I think I got as close as anybody could.)

22.Pass The Jug (I transcribed this little stomper from a 1920s recording made

23.Tack Head Blues (written by Alex Hill - from whose Vocalion recording I transcribed this exciting mid-tempo blues. Along with Jimmy Blythe, Alex Hill was one of the finest Chicago South Side style jazz pianists of his day - I just love to hear a piano played like this.)

24.I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate (Armand Piron's famous piece which always reminds me of a stripper doing her stuff - so I've shovelled plenty of raunchiness into this arrangement!)

25.All The Wrongs You've Done To Me (This great tune used to be quite popular with jazz bands but now seems to have fallen out of favour. I have included a little double-tempo passage to keep you awake!)

26.Careless Love (Cliff Jackson was a wonderful stride pianist who had one of the best left hands in the business. Most of his recorded output consisted of uptempo tours de force, so to present a different aspect of his talent I have transcribed his version of this medium tempo bluesy song - yet you still feel that Cliff is just itching to break out and stomp it to death!)

27.Arkansas Blues (Here's another of my Cliff Jackson transcriptions, a Spencer Williams tune which is given a primitive, lowdown interpretation)

28.Bounce With Me (Written by that two-fisted keyboard genius, Errol Garner, one of the most exciting players ever to have graced the planet. I have done my best to emulate him in this styling, just lie back and enjoy it) Piano roll not available.

29.Yellow Dog Blues (One of W.C. Handy's finest blues compositions. I got a little carried away with this one so in addition to some double tempo passages you get a few more choruses than I usually play).

30.Sheltered By The Stars (An obscure Fats Waller ballad which deserves to be aired more often than it is. It reminds me a little of "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" - maybe I'll get around to doing that one day . . .).

31.King Chanticleer (And now for something completely different - you are in a smoke-filled bar, lots of background noise, clinking glasses, everything smells of beer. A little shirt-sleeved, derby-topped guy at the piano strikes up with this old warhorse - heaven must be something like that).

32.T'ain't So, Honey, T'ain't So (A neat title for this neat mid-tempo tune written by famed song composer Willard Robison who was also responsible for "A Cottage For Sale" and "Sharecropper's Blues").

33.Baby Brown (Another Alex Hill composition which has become neglected over the years - a pity, because in the right hands this tune really jumps. If you get the opportunity, listen to the Fats Waller recording and you will get the idea).

34.Tatum Plays The Blues (I transcribed this from a very rough recording made by Art Tatum in the mid-1940s. He is my favourite pianist, no other player has ever managed to emulate his staggering technique. No fireworks here, just a straight-ahead 12 bar blues played as only Tatum could).

35.About A Quarter To Nine (A tune written by the great songwriter Harry Warren which many of us associate with Al Jolson. Because it would be a pity to obscure the pretty melody I have tried to arrange this number in a hot dance style instead of an out-and-out jazz performance. Listen for the little-heard verse). Piano roll not available.

36.Fats Waller Rhythm Medley #1 (Remember the great little band which made those classic recordings under the name "Fats Waller and his Rhythm"? I've assembled four of the lesser known tunes here, in each case I transcribed Fats' piano solo - Hold My Hand/Don't Let It Bother You/There's Honey On The Moon Tonight/Sing An Old Fashioned Song. These tracks showed off The Harmful Little Armful at the peak of his career.)

37.Fats Waller Rhythm Medley #2 (Here's another for which I used the same source material, this one features Spreading Rhythm Around/Why Do I Lie To Myself About You/How Can You Face Me.)

38.Jelly Roll Stomp (If you enjoyed Pass The Jug you will like this one too - it was also written by Kansas City Frank Melrose. I transcribed this rough-and-ready piece from from one of Frank's very early recordings)

39.Cryin' For The Carolines (I transcribed this delightful Harry Warren tune from James P. Johnson's well-known 1930 recording. Without doubt it is the definitive piano version, every now and then the sly James P. tangles up the syncopation so much that you are sure he has lost himself - but he pops out of the other end right on the beat !)

40.Tishomingo Blues (All traditional jazzers will be familiar with this old favourite. In this arrangement I have tried to give it a different feel - the key changes with every chorus, first D flat, then D - a nightmare key for most jazz musicians! - and finally E flat.)

41.Got A Date With An Angel (Yet another neat but neglected tune which seems to have been consigned to the trashcan. Attractive changes, plenty of tasty things going on, this number should be in every jazz pianists repertoire.) The score for this one is not available.

42.Birmingham Breakdown (One of those notoriously fast stride numbers written by Duke Ellington. After playing this one a pianist usually needs to go into recovery for a little while.) Piano roll not available.

43.Too Much Mustard (Back to the ragtime era - here's a snappy tune which has been used in countless movies to evoke the spirit of the "Jazz Age" period of the 20th century. I cannot claim any credit for the arrangement - I transcribed it from a Joe "Fingers" Carr recording. Although he is now remembered for his honkytonk style Joe (real name Lou Busch) was an extremely accomplished all-round jazz and classical pianist.) Piano roll not available.

44.You Can't Lose A Broken Heart (This lovely ballad, written by monster pianist/composer James P. Johnson, was the hit song from the show "Sugar Hill")

45.Waiting At The End Of The Road (Not one of my own transcriptions, this was sent to me by a friend (a few errors in the manuscript needed correction). I've tried to emulate the Fats Waller style - the song was composed by the one of America's most prolific tunesmiths, Irving Berlin. )

46.Candy Lips (I'm Stuck On You) (Many bands I have heard play this number much too fast for my taste. In this version you will hear the verse and three choruses, the first two played at a more sensible speed - then I crank up the tempo for a hot out-chorus sprinkled with a few syncopated breaks.)

47.Crazy Jo' (This was written in 1922 as a tenor banjo solo by Harry Reser, America's foremost banjo star at the time. It lends itself well to solo piano treatment too, you will hear novelty licks, stride and even a dash of Jelly Roll Morton in my adaptation of this hot and tricky little number.)

48.He Ain't Got Rhythm (Another snappy Irving Berlin song which until recently was new to me. I'm told that it was featured in a movie with Alice Faye, it certainly sounds typical of the sort of number she used to sing.)

49.China Jumps (An obscure Fats Waller composition illustrating his powerful take-no-prisoners fast stride style. When it came to playing this kind of thing Waller had no equal.)

50.Fats Waller Rhythm Medley #3 (Here's yet another selection of pop tunes associated with Fats, transcribed from his Rhythm recordings. The tune list is The Love Bug Will Bite You/T'ain't Nobody's Business/All My Life/Who's Afraid Of Love.)

51.The Ladies Who Sing With The Band (During 1943 - the year in which he died - Fats Waller wrote some songs for the show "Early To Bed" but did not make any commercial recordings of them. Here is one of the hit tunes from the show played in the Fats style.)

52.Justin-Tyme (The name of Roy Bargy is well-known to fans of 1920s piano music. He was a piano roll artist, played with the Paul Whiteman and Isham Jones orchestras and was Jimmy Durante's musical director for many years. Not least, he was the composer of several terrific novelty piano solos such as this.)

53.If I Had You (A performance by the little-known pianist Marvin Ash which I transcribed some time ago. Ash was a truly great jazz pianist who worked in the music department of the Disney conglomeration until his untimely death which, I am told, was hastened by alcoholic over-indulgence. Such a pity - he was one of the best.)

54.It Had To Be You (I transcribed this from an Art Tatum recording - if there is life after death I want to come back as him !! Without doubt he was the greatest jazz pianist ever to draw breath.)

55.Sweet Savannah Sue (One of Fats Waller's most celebrated piano solo compositions which I transcribed from his famous 1929 Victor recording.)

56.Fats Waller's Original E Flat Blues (And another, this one taken from Fats' 1935 recording - I could listen to this kind of stuff for hours.)

57.I've Got A Feeling I'm Falling (And yet another !! This comes from the same 1929 recording session as Sweet Savannah Sue.)

58.Honey Babe (Written by Jelly Roll Morton, who claimed to have invented jazz. I have avoided Morton's idiosyncratic piano style here, instead I have chosen to arrange the tune in a more modern fashion.)

59.Harlem Hotcha (My arrangement of one of James P. Johnson's lesser-known fast stride pieces, fasten your seatbelts! )

60.Squeeze Me (I transcribed this from Fats Waller's QRS piano roll.)

 61.Handful Of Keys (Fats Waller's most famous hot piano solo which I transcribed from his celebrated 1929 Victor recording.)

62.Zonky (In March 1935 Fats Waller, under the pseudonym "Flip Wallace", recorded a number of transcription discs for Associated Music Publishers Inc. of New York. I transcribed Zonky - another fast stride tune written by Fats - from that session.)

63.The Curse Of An Aching Heart (An odd title for a great stomping number, once frequently played by jazz bands but not heard so often these days. This is my arrangement.)

64.Martinique (All I know about this one is that it was written by Fats Waller, probably for the 1943 show "Early To Bed". It is a tango, my information is that it is the only one Fats wrote. I have a very poor quality recording of it, never released during Fats' lifetime, which I have used as a pattern for this arrangement.)

65.Fats Waller Rhythm Medley #4 (I make no apologies for the preponderance of Waller material on my webpage - Fats remains the leading contender for the greatest rhythm jazz pianist the world has ever known and I am nuts about his playing style. In this arrangement I have transcribed several Waller piano solos - Ain't Misbehavin', Your Feet's Too Big and S'posin'.)

66.Carolina Shout (Here it is - James P. Johnson's most famous anthem to stride piano playing. After performing this killer pianists had to count their fingers to make sure they were all still there!) Piano roll not available.

67.Weeping Blues (Another James P. Johnson tune which I transcribed from his 1923 Columbia recording. The sound quality was so poor that I had to guess parts of it, but I think that my effort is pretty faithful to the original.) Piano roll not available.

68.Sugar Rose (An obscure Fats Waller ballad which he wrote in 1936 - Fats could provide an inexhaustible supply of material such as this. My arrangement.)

69.St. Louis Blues (version 1) (A well-worn jazz favourite - I have dumped the usual dirge tempo, this is an out-and-out stride version which is sure to upset the blues purists.)

70.Royal Garden Blues (I have based this arrangement on an almost inaudible recording of Don Lambert playing in a New Jersey bar back in the 1950s. Taken at a much gentler tempo than usual with with a few harmonic surprises.)

71.After You've Gone (Here's another old warhorse beloved of jazz bands. As you may expect the tune begins in a bluesy fashion, then the tempo doubles, near the end it triples and finally goes out on the original blues tempo.)

72.Nobody But My Baby (I stole this arrangement from Fats Waller's QRS piano roll - I cannot remember hearing any other recorded version of this medium tempo swinger written by Spencer Williams.)  Piano roll not available.

73.I’m Coming Virginia (And here’s another little Fats gem for which I used the same source material.) Piano roll not available.

74.The Darktown Strutters' Ball (My arrangement of one of Shelton Brooks’ snappiest tunes. Lots of key changes here.)

75. Save It Pretty Mama (A lovely bluesy jazz number written by Don Redman, a brilliant musician. To keep you on your toes this arrangement jumps into double tempo here and there.)

76. What Can I Say After I Say I’m Sorry (Another neglected gem of a tune which always reminds me of Doris Day! I have not been too adventurous with this arrangement but have stuck closely to the melody.)

77. Woo Woo (Here’s another Ammons tune which Tibor brought to my attention. It’s an attractive stomping mix of stride and boogiewoogie)

78. Can’t We Be Friends (This mid-tempo ballad is usually associated with modern styles of jazz so my arrangement reclaims it for fans of a more traditional persuasion).

79. Muskrat Ramble (Kid Ory helped to write this hot number which must be one of the most frequently played tunes in the traditional jazz repertoire. My arrangement is unadulterated stride from beginning to end.)

80. What Is This Thing Called Love (One of Cole Porter’s finest torch songs recorded by numerous bands, musicians and vocalists. This is my arrangement, so naturally it is infected with plenty of stride piano.)

81. Mecca Flat Blues (The famous Southside Chicago pianist Jimmy Blythe was one of the three composers of this well known blues which has been recorded several times. I thought that for this version I would like to do my own arrangement, I hope that you like it. ) Piano roll not available.

82. Bob Zurke Medley (Zurke was a terrific but comparatively little known two-fisted pianist who played with a number of bands including the Bob Crosby Bobcats. Here I have strung together a number of arrangements published by Leo Feist in the 1940s, you will hear Swingin’ Down The Lane, My Blue Heaven, At Sundown and Doodle Doo Doo.) Piano roll not available.

83. Bozo Pants (Written by Robin Frost, an American who in my opinion is the world’s greatest composer of hot piano music today, Robin has composed dozens of top quality piano solos such as this. As the copyright of this material is not owned by me I am not selling piano rolls and sheet music of Bozo Pants (I used the tune with permission). If this is your kind of thing you can order the sheet music and a CD from http://www.johnroachemusic.com/  but be warned - it is not easy to play!

84. Scouting Around (Another James P. Johnson stride piano solo which he recorded for Okeh in 1923. The audio quality of the recording I used to transcribe this was almost non-existent but I think that I managed to get it all. )

85. Dive Bomber (A blazing boogie-woogie performance of a tune by Pete Johnson - originally entitled Answer To The Boogie - which I transcribed from his 1944 Brunswick recording. Tragically in 1952 Pete lost a finger in an accident effectively ending his career as one of the world’s most outstanding boogie-woogie and blues pianists.)

86. St. Louis Blues (version 2) (This is my transcription of an Albert Ammons performance which he recorded for Solo Art in 1939. By golly, what a piano player !!)

87. Lock And Key (In 1927 the great blues singer Bessie Smith recorded this tune for Columbia with James P. Johnson playing wonderful piano accompaniment. With great difficulty I have cut out Bessie’s vocal and transcribed James P.’s superb backing.) Piano roll not available.

88. West Dallas Drag (I transcribed this from a 1934 Bluebird recording by Rob Cooper, a shadowy figure about whom almost nothing is known. Cooper played piano in what is known as the Texas Santa Fe style which sounds awfully like stride to my ear! Apparently Texas Santa Fe was spawned in the entertainment houses of the Houston railroad area – if this was typical of the music on offer it must have been great fun working there!)

89. Suitcase Blues (Albert Ammons again – this is a 12 bar blues written by Hersal Thomas. Ammons made a recording of it for Blue Note in 1939 which I have transcribed here. All the Ammons trademarks are present – boogie-woogie and stride, Chicago Southside licks, who could ask for anything more?)

90. Kiss Me Sweet (I like this tune enormously, it was composed by Armand Piron and Steve Lewis who wrote a goodly number of songs beloved of traditional jazz bands. For this performance I transcribed a 1953 recording by a little-known New Orleans pianist – Armand Hug – who ambles along for a few choruses and then cranks up the tempo for the final two.)

91. The Sheik Of Araby (Here’s a full-blooded stride version of a tune which has been battered to death by a multitude of jazz bands. Before you click on this one pour yourself a large malt whisky, lie back in your most comfortable chair, think of England and wallow in the music – but don’t forget to pat your feet.) 

92. You Took Advantage Of Me (Cliff Jackson, a master of complicated syncopation recorded this in 1962. Recently it was re-released on a Black Lion CD from which I did my transcription – Cliff’s left hand was like a striking cobra !)

93. Lullaby In Rhythm (This is a swing-era tune with a very unusual chord sequence. Many recordings of it exist but my favourite solo piano version is the one Don Ewell did for Chiaroscuro in 1970 which I have transcribed here.)

94. Last Go Round Blues (Back to Fats – I transcribed his QRS piano roll for this one. J. Lawrence Cook, the gifted QRS staff arranger, did some editing on it to impart a fuller “pianola” sound, nevertheless this medium tempo blues is a typical example of Waller’s wonderful piano style.) Piano roll not available

95. Confessin’ The Blues (Here’s my arrangement of a leisurely 12 bar blues composed by the great Kansas City style jazz pianist Jay McShann. This is relaxing “after hours” piano, just lie back with a drink in one hand and a big fat Cuban cigar in the other and enjoy it !)

96. I’m Putting All My Eggs In One Basket (Don Lambert was one of the greatest stride pianists ever who left behind very few commercial recordings. He did not seek fame and fortune preferring instead to play a beat-up piano in a New Jersey bar. Fortunately for us some of his fans sneaked in hand-held wire and tape recorders now and then, the recording quality is dismal but I have managed to transcribe a few of them. Lambert is remembered mostly for his superfast interpretations of the classics, however this one is an example of his lovely ballad style.)

97. Yacht Club Swing (Fats Waller wrote this tune when he was the resident pianist at the Yacht Club, New York, and recorded it several times. This is my arrangement of his neat little swinger.)

98. All Of Me (I transcribed this from a recording by a little-known Swiss pianist, Dave Ruosch, who can play stride piano with the best of them – for some strange reason there are quite a number of excellent jazz pianists living in Switzerland. With luck I shall discover them all eventually!) Piano roll not available

99. Tea For Two (Another of my Don Lambert transcriptions. This is one of his most astonishing pieces – he keeps the melody of Tea For Two going with his left hand while he plays other tunes – April Showers and Because Of You – with his right! A truly remarkable, endlessly inventive pianist.)

100. Hold My Hand (Here is another one for you fast stride fans – Fats Waller composed it together with J.C. Johnson, this is my arrangement. Hold on to your hats !)

101. If It Ain't Love (This neat medium tempo song was composed by the dream team of Andy Razaf and Don Redman and popularised by the great Fats Waller. It is yet another of those wonderful tunes which have been neglected for too long – every jazz pianist should have this little gem in his repertoire.)

102. My Monday Date (One of Earl Hines’ well-known uptempo compositions. For this version I transcribed a 1972 recording made by the phenomenal French pianist, Claude Bolling, who could imitate the styles of most of the greats. Here he has certainly captured Hines’ fiery, attacking approach to this kind of thing.)

103. Jim Jams (After the ragtime craze declined along came another catchy kind of music – the novelty piano solo. This one was written by Roy Bargy, who used to be the pianist with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. Bargy wrote several tricky, finger-twisting piano pieces, in my opinion Jim Jams is one of his best. This version is my arrangement.)

104. On The Sunny Side Of The Street (Although written in 1930 this song has never lost its appeal. Numerous arrangements have been written, it has been recorded many times – this version is my straight-ahead jazz arrangement which should get your feet tapping.)

105. I'm Not Worrying (Here is another little-known Fats Waller tune as played by the great British stride pianist Neville Dickie. I transcribed this one from Neville’s 2004 Stomp Off CD)

106. If I Could Be With You (version 1) (One of James P. Johnson’s most popular tunes, here played by the amazing pianist Donald Lambert. I transcribed this from a privately recorded tape of uncertain date, at the same time I changed the key from G flat to F to make the sheet music more playable by us mere mortals.)

107. Isn't This A Lovely Day (An Irving Berlin tune which I transcribed from a recent CD by American pianist Mark Shane, who obviously graduated from the Teddy Wilson school of piano playing.)

108. Scram! (All I know about this obscure tune is that it was written by the famed (and controversial!) jazz critic Leonard Feather. I have based this stride arrangement on a recording made by Bernd Lhotzsky and have added a few touches of my own.) Piano roll not available