Fats Navarro

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Fats Navarro, around 1947.
Photograph by William P. Gottlieb .

Theodore "Fats" Navarro (born September 24, 1923 in Key West , Florida , † July 7, 1950 in New York City ) was an American jazz trumpeter who is considered one of the most outstanding early bebop trumpet players .

Life

Fats Navarro had Cuban , Afro-American and Chinese ancestors and played the piano as a child (his father, who also played piano, sent him to class when he was six), but began playing the trumpet and tenor saxophone at the age of 13 . His first job in a band was in the Walter Johnson Orchestra in Miami .

In 1941 he left school and was a member of Sol Albright's band in Orlando , with whom he toured, but that same year he switched to Snookum Russell's orchestra in Indianapolis , where he made friends with trombonist JJ Johnson . Russell's group was considered one of the popular Territory Bands in the 1940s and was a good training opportunity for the young trumpeter. In addition to JJ Johnson, Ray Brown also played there . After two years with Russell, he became first soloist on the trumpet. During this time, his style was heavily influenced by Roy Eldridge and his cousin Charlie Shavers .

He then played from 1943 to 1945 in Kansas City with Andy Kirk , in his famous swing orchestra Twelve Clouds Of Joy . The orchestra's first trumpeter, Howard McGhee , became his closest friend and teacher, who also introduced him to the bebop that Navarro could hear in the jazz clubs on 52nd Street . In December 1943, Navarro's first recordings were made with the Kirk band, the 78 for Decca with “Fare Thee Well Honey” / “Baby, Don't You Tell Me No Lie”.

In 1944 he appeared in New York : his appearance at the Apollo Theater impressed the critics. In 1945 he replaced his role model Dizzy Gillespie (on his recommendation) in the bebop-influenced big band of Billy Eckstine ; but his membership in Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra ended a year later. However, since the record companies were more interested in Eckstine's ballads, there are only a few recordings with solos of the trumpeter in this band. After leaving Eckstine, Navarro stayed in New York City. With the end of the big bands, numerous smaller ensembles emerged in the city, which represented the ideal format for him. So recordings were made with Leo Parker , Sonny Stitt , Kenny Dorham and the McGhee / Navarro Boptet .

Fats Navarro and Tadd Dameron .
Photo: William P. Gottlieb .

He then played from 1947 as a star soloist in the band of the pianist Tadd Dameron , but also with Illinois Jacquet , Tommy Reynolds , Lionel Hampton and Coleman Hawkins . During this time he was also a soloist in one of the "All-Stars" groups that played in the Carnegie Hall as part of the Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts . His connection with Tadd Dameron is considered to be his musically most productive period. The pianist's influence brought a more lyrical accent to his playing. Navarro was one of the main soloists in an ensemble in which he then played with musicians such as Wardell Gray , Allen Eager , JJ Johnson, Milt Jackson , Curley Russell , Nelson Boyd and Kenny Clarke . The band's appearances at the New York Club Royal Roost are legendary . In 1948 he also recorded a piece as a member of the bop-oriented Benny Goodman Septet ("Stealin 'Apples").

Fats Navarro / Don Lanphere Quintet with Al Haig , Tommy Potter and Max Roach : “Stop” from 1949

At this time Navarro enjoyed a high reputation among jazz audiences, critics and colleagues; In 1948 he was the winner of the Metronome's reader survey and then performed with the Metronome All Stars . Navarro, who spoke Spanish, also played occasional jam sessions in the clubs of the Latin jazz scene in New York. Despite the success, Navarro did not form his own band; so only a few titles were created under his own name. He recorded the Tadd Dameron title "Jahbero" with percussionist Chino Pozo , which is based on " All the Things You Are ". In early 1949 he played with "Casbah" another Dameron composition based on the standard " Out of Nowhere " from 1931; here the Afro-Cuban percussionists Diego Ibarra and Carlos Vidal Bolado took part. At the end of 1949 a bop mambo called “Stop” was created, which Don Lanphere had written on the basis of “Pennies From Heaven”.

A disease of tuberculosis severely restricted activities in the last seventeen months of his life; nevertheless he went on a JATP tour in February and March 1949. In 1949 there were therefore only two studio sessions; one in August with Bud Powell and another in September with Don Lanphere. Most recently, Charlie Parker brought him into his quartet in 1950; shortly before his death there were live recordings from Birdland . At that time, however, he weighed only 55 kg and when he died, only 35 kg. He died at the age of 26 from complications from heroin addiction, alcoholism and tuberculosis.

Because of his corpulence and high-pitched voice, he was nicknamed Fat Girl , which he hated.

Appreciation

Navarro left a total of around 150 photos. In 1982 he was elected into the Down Beat Hall of Fame by an international crowd . He is considered to be the main influence on Clifford Brown and the subsequent generation of trumpeters such as Benny Bailey , Lee Morgan , Freddie Hubbard , Sam Noto , Woody Shaw and later Roy Hargrove . Martin Kunzler counted him among "the early developers of jazz, whose career broke off before its peak", always recognizable "by the full, unusually clear tone and technically perfect phrasing ."

Discography (selection)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kernfeld (Ed.): New Grove Dictionary of Jazz . 1988
  2. ^ Stuart Varden: All About Jazz
  3. ↑ Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 2: M – Z (= rororo non-fiction book. Volume 16513). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16513-9 , p. 847.
personal data
SURNAME Navarro, Fats
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Navarro, Theodore (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz trumpeter
DATE OF BIRTH September 24, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Key West , Florida
DATE OF DEATH July 7, 1950
Place of death New York City