Jason Moran - All Rise: A Joyful Elegy For Fats Waller (2014) [HDTracks]

Acclaimed pianist Jason Moran teams up with vocalist Meshell Ndegeocello to recast the music of legendary jazz entertainer Fats Waller as a modern dance party. Moran and Ndegeocello host a changeable cast of musicians that includes vocalist Lisa E. Harris, Moran's longtime trio The Bandwagon and a funky horn-inflected ensemble anchored by drummer Charles Haynes featuring trumpeter Leron Thomas and trombonist Josh Roseman, as well as guest saxophonist Steve Lehman. All Rise: A Joyful Elegy For Fats Waller, a Grammy nominee, was produced by Ndegeocello and Blue Note Records president and musician Don Was. The album was recorded and mixed by Bob Power, known for honing the sound on classic hip-hop records by A Tribe Called Quest, Common and The Roots.

"Fats Waller is a special kind of provocateur. It stems mainly from the fact that he was a singer as well as a pianist. Sometimes he was like an MC. It has always amazed me that a pianist whose playing was so deep could sing and keep a running commentary of what was going on around him all at the same time."