Funded by the Friends of the Rutgers University Libraries and presented by the Institute of Jazz Studies, this day-long event featured live music, lectures, and film in celebration of the life and music of Thomas (Fats) Waller (1904-43), pianist, organist, singer, composer, bandleader and entertainer. Waller’s legacy is alive on his hundreds of recordings and handful of appearances on film, and in his many songs.

Performers at this event included pianists Ray Bryant and Mike Lipskin, singer-pianist Daryl Sherman and guitarist-singer Marty Grosz appearing together with Randy Reinhardt on the trumpet. Speakers were Waller experts Paul Machlin, Mark Borowsky (see page 6 of pdf pages) and Bob Pinsker. In addition, Dan Morgenstern, Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies, hosted a showing of Waller on film.
Click here for more information about the schedule of talks and performances.
Click here to see a set of photographs from the Celebration.

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