Nat Jaffe (January 1, 1918 – August 5, 1945) was an American

swing jazz Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...

pianist. He was married to singer Shirley Lloyd. Jaffe lived in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

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 Noel Francis (born Noel Frances Sweeney, August 31, 1906 – October 30, 1959) was an American actress of the stage and screen during the 1920s and 1930s. Born in Texas, she began her acting career on the Broadway stage in the mid-1920s, befo ...

, the Emery Deutsch Orchestra, and as a soloist on

52nd Street 52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s. Jazz center Following the repeal of ...

. In the late 1930s he played with

Jan Savitt Jan Savitt (born Jacob Savetnick; September 4, 1907 – October 4, 1948), known as "The Stokowski of Swing", from having played violin in Leopold Stokowski's orchestra, was an American bandleader, musical arranger, and violinist. Early life and ...

Joe Marsala Joseph Francis Marsala (January 4, 1907 – March 4, 1978) was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist and songwriter. His younger brother was trumpeter Marty Marsala and he was married to jazz harpist Adele Girard. Music career He was born in C ...

and

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

, and recorded with Louis Armstrong (1938),

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Skyliner", " Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffl ...

(1938–39) and

Jack Teagarden Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden (August 20, 1905 – January 15, 1964) was an American jazz trombonist and singer. According to critic Scott Yannow of Allmusic, Teagarden was the preeminent American jazz trombone player before the bebop era of the 19 ...

(1940). 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 Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

and

Don Byas Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas (October 21, 1912 – August 24, 1972) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, associated with swing and bebop. He played with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, and also led ...

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: * ''Naturally (Natch-ra-ly)'' * ''I've Got a Pocketful of Dreams'' * ''I Can't Give You Anything but Love'' * ''Ain't Misbehavin

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 Graham John Thomson Forbes, CBE is a priest of the Scottish Episcopal Church. He was Provost of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh from 1990 until June 2017. He was born on 10 June 1951 and educated at George Heriot's School, Edinburgh and the U ...

for the 1938 recordings. They recorded the following songs:

May 16, 1938

* ''Make Believe Ballroom (Theme)'' * ''Prelude In C Sharp Minor'' * ''I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart'' * ''You Go To My Head'' * ''Stop, Look And Listen'' * ''Harmony In Harlem'' * ''Blue Turning Grey Over You'' * ''In-A-Jam'' * ''Chatterbox'' * ''Rock It For Me'' * ''Lullaby In Rhythm''

November 5, 1938

* ''Prelude To A Kiss'' * ''Jump Jump's Here'' * ''Undecided'' * ''You Got Me''

January 1939

* ''I Get Along Without You Very Well'' * ''I'm Prayin' Humble'' * ''Tin Roof Blues'' * ''Knocking At The Famous Door''

February 24, 1939

* ''The Gal From Joe's'' * ''Where Can She Be'' * ''Jump Session'' * ''I Wouldn't Give That For Love'' * ''A New Moon and an Old Serenade'' * ''Swing Street Strut''

With Jack Teagarden (1940)

In 1940, Jack Teagarden recorded sixteen sides for Varsity, which were reissued in 1986 by

Savoy Jazz Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music. ...

. During these sessions, his orchestra included Nat Jaffe on piano. These recordings were:

February 19–27

* ''If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight'' * ''My Melancholy Baby'' * ''Can't We Talk It Over'' * ''The Blues'' * ''Love For Sale'' * ''You, You Darling'' * ''The Moon And The Willow Tree'' * ''Wham''

April 14–16

* ''Devil May Care'' * ''Night On The Shalimar'' * ''I Hear Bluebirds'' * ''Fatima's Drummer Boy''

Late July

* ''Now I Lay Me Down To Dream'' * ''Wait Til I Catch You In My Dreams'' * ''And So Do I'' * ''River Home''

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 Signature Records was a jazz record company and label founded in 1939 by Bob Thiele when he was 17 years old. Its roster included Coleman Hawkins, Earl Hines, Erroll Garner, and Lester Young. At age 14, Thiele was a disc jockey for his own jazz r ...

: * ''How Can You Face Me?'' * ''Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now'' * ''(What Did I Do To Be So) Black And Blue'' * ''Zonky''

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: * ''Blues In Nat's Flat'' * ''These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)'' * ''A Hundred Years From Today'' * ''If I Had You''

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 Joseph Edward Filippelli (March 26, 1915 – August 17, 2001), known professionally as Flip Phillips, was an American jazz tenor saxophone and clarinet player. He is best remembered for his work with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic conce ...

on tenor saxophone,

Charlie Shavers Charles James Shavers (August 3, 1920 – July 8, 1971) was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday ...

on trumpet and Specs Powell on drums: ''The Jeep Is Jumpin.

With Sarah Vaughan (1945)

Jaffe played piano on two of three recorded tracks during a recording session on May 25, 1945, in New York:Sarah Vaughan Biography and Discography
/ref> * ''What More Can a Woman Do?'' * ''Mean to Me''

Notes

References

* Scott Yanow, Nat Jaffeat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffe, Nat 1918 births 1945 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists Musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Deaths from hypertension American expatriates in Germany American expatriate musicians