Nat Jaffe

Nat Jaffe (January 1, 1918 – August 5, 1945) was an American swing jazz pianist. He was married to singer Shirley Lloyd.[1][2]

Jaffe lived in Berlin from 1921 to 1932, where he received classical training on piano. Upon his return to the U.S., he began playing jazz music, working with Noel Francis, the Emery Deutsch Orchestra, and as a soloist on 52nd Street. In the late 1930s he played with Jan Savitt, Joe Marsala and Billie Holiday, and recorded with Louis Armstrong (1938), Charlie Barnet (1938–39) and Jack Teagarden (1940).[3] He led his own trio in the early 1940s and recorded in 1945 with Sarah Vaughan.
Jaffe died in 1945 as a result of complications from high blood pressure at the age of 27.

Recordings

Solo (1938)

Three solo piano pieces (Body And Soul, Liza and I Can't Get Started) were recorded on January 31, 1938 and released by Onyx Records in 1974 on 52nd Street; Volume 2, which also features performances by Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and Don Byas.[4][5][6][7]

With Louis Armstrong (1938)

The line-up of Louis Armstrong's orchestra during a New York recording session on June 24, 1938 included Nat Jaffe on piano, and produced four tracks:[8]

With Charlie Barnet (1938-1939)

During four recording sessions in New York in 1938 and 1939, Nat Jaffe was part of Charlie Barnet's orchestra. He shared piano credits with Graham Forbes for the 1938 recordings. They recorded the following songs:[9][10][11]

May 16, 1938

November 5, 1938

January 20, 1939

February 24, 1939

With Jack Teagarden (1940)

In 1940, Jack Teagarden recorded sixteen sides for Varsity, which were reissued in 1986 by Savoy Jazz. During these sessions, his orchestra included Nat Jaffe on piano. These recordings were:[12]

February 19–27

April 14–16

Late July

Fats Waller Songs (1944)

On February 26, 1944, he recorded four of eight sides with Sid Jacobs on bass on a memorial album for Fats Waller, with Earl Hines recording the other four, for Signature Records:[13][14][15]

Nat Jaffe Trio (1944)

The Nat Jaffe Trio, with guitarist Remo Palmieri and bassist Leo Guarnieri, made four recordings on December 21, 1944 for Black and White Records:[16][17]

Nat Jaffe and his V-Disc Jumpers (1945)

On January 24, 1945 Jaffe recorded at least one track with this group, featuring Don Byas and Flip Phillips on tenor saxophone, Charlie Shavers on trumpet and Specs Powell on drums: The Jeep Is Jumpin'.[18][19][20][21]

With Sarah Vaughan (1945)

Jaffe played piano on two of three recorded tracks during a recording session on May 25, 1945 in New York:[22]

Notes

  1. ↑ "The 27s — Roster"
  2. ↑ "Jazz Families", AllAboutJazz.com
  3. ↑ "Billie Holiday" by Tony Scott
  4. ↑ 52nd Street, Volume 2 review, allmusic.com
  5. ↑ Onyx Records Listing, jazzdiscography.com
  6. ↑ The Session Label, Robert Campbell's Home Page
  7. ↑ 52nd Street; Volume 2 LP, discogs.com
  8. ↑ Louis Armstrong Discography, 1932-1942
  9. ↑ Make Believe Ballroom: 1935-1939, discogs.com
  10. ↑ The Complete Charlie Barnet, Volume II - 1939, discogs.com
  11. ↑ Bluebird listing, Online 78rpm Discographical Project
  12. ↑ Varsity Sides LP, discogs.com
  13. ↑ Full text of "A History Of Jazz In America" on archive.org
  14. ↑ Signature Listing, Online 78rpm Discographical Project
  15. ↑ Fats Waller Songs LP, discogs.com
  16. ↑ Black and White Records Listing, Online 78rpm Discographical Project
  17. ↑ Playing the Black & Whites CD, discogs.com
  18. ↑ Midnights at V-Disc album notes, hbdirect.com
  19. ↑ Midnights at V-Disc album review, answers.com
  20. ↑ Don Byas: Complete American Small Group Recordings article, allaboutjazz.com
  21. ↑ Midnights At V-Disc CD Track Listing, cylist.com
  22. ↑ Sarah Vaughan Biography and Discography

References