Tribute to Fats Waller, Earl Hines, Art Tatum, and boogie-woogie pianists.

Piano show based on melodies of traditional jazz, with movie snippets Jazz piano traditions had been developing long before the genre itself was born. Though it was in 20’s Harlem that the greatest development took place. By that we mean the so-called stride piano style, which informed the whole Harlem Piano style. James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955) was one of the pioneers of the style. Classically trained pianist, Johnson bridged the ragtime and jazz eras, and, with Jelly Roll Morton, one of the two most important catalysts in the evolution of ragtime piano into jazz. As such, he was a model for Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, and Fats Waller.

A feature of musical Harlem was so-called “rent parties”. Professional pianists and their pupils met there to play and exchange ideas. Many notable jazz musicians are associated with rent parties, including Johnson and Waller. Later, boogie-related styles, as well as other styles associated with Waller, emerged.

The narrator, Mikhail Mitropolsky, is the most famous and oldest of Russian jazz critic, and a member of the international Jazz Journalists Association (JJA). Mitropolsky has been studying jazz and beyond for nearly 50 years now! He is a radio presenter, writer, and lecturer.