Tea for Two in style of Fats Waller

A version of Tea for Two that leans heavily on a Fats Waller recording and with additional influences from Liberace and Russ Conway. In this clip it is Mike Thomson's encore at his recital for the Billy Mayerl Society (www.billymayerlsociety.co.uk)in 2003. It is reproduced here by kind permission of Mike Lorenzini.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Tea
• for
• two
• fats
• waller
• liberace
• russ
• conway
• mike
• thomson
• billy
• mayerl
• society
• piano
• solo

[predoje]

thats what im talking about! You have master technik. You play without big presure of hand, you have that feeling that used Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson,Fats Waler, and today all great pianist.

[honkytonkpiano]

@predoje Thank you!

[IamsGamer]

Do you have the sheet music for this, or anything similar, and if so, please can you post it somehow?

[honkytonkpiano]

@IamsGamer I haven't written this out at all. There is an ordinary song sheet for "Tea for Two" (in A flat), but my version (in E flat, like Fats Waller's) has simply been worked out by ear based on some recordings, and I've never felt the need to write it out. It's my favourite encore piece (when I get an encore, that is!).

Cheers, Mike

[loocee95]

Love your playing!!!

Bravo! A very nice touch.... I love Fats but I was curious as a couple of his tunes sound like 4 hands on the keyboard, I know Tatum is like that (actually sounds like 10 hands) but as a pro pianist, I can't see how Fats was doing this and the technology back then wouldn't allow it. Any ideas? Did Fats do some 4 hands stuff that wasn't credited on the records?

[honkytonkpiano]

@loocee95 Thank you! There's some amazing stuff on Fats' recordings, but to my ears nothing that can't be attributed to exceptional hands, coordination and musicianship. Have you any particular recordings in mind? Fats' piano rolls do have sounds that would need extra hands, often because the upper note of the left-hand tenth is artificially lengthened. Many of the Waller piano rolls were actually recorded by someone else - Lawrence J Cook, I think it was.

All the best, Mike

[kiwibobe]

This is very good.

A really nice rhythmic rendition. I am a real fan of "Fats" and this is superb. I particularly like your "easy" playing style.

The quality of the recording, both audio and visual, greatly adds to the enjoyment of the superb playing.

Many thanks.

[oilburner75]

I'm sure there was some of RC's 'Sidesaddle' in there , great work Sir Mike!

[TheHelioschampionpit]

Gracias Maestro!!!

[TalPlayPiano]

Excellent pianiste, merveilleuse musique...

:-)

Chantal

(lepianoarcenciel)

[00maiden]

I love this performance, since I found it, I play it nearly even evening......

Topclass!

[PaulWilliems]

wonderful

[everythingtolove]

fantastic!

[gerardbedecarter]

Wow!

[IamsGamer]

@honkytonkpiano O.K then. Thanks anyway for the performance!