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. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement ...

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

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

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. 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 made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

, and recorded with

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

(1938),

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

(1938–39) and

Jack Teagarden Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden (August 20, 1905 – January 15, 1964) was an United States, American jazz Trombone, trombonist and singer. He led both of his bands himself and was a sideman for Paul Whiteman's orchestra. From 1946 to 1951, he played ...

(1940). He led his own trio in the early 1940s and recorded in 1945 with

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

. 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 Onyx Records, Inc., was a small, independent American record label based in Manhattan, New York, co-founded on July 15, 1971, by Joe Fields (1929–2017) and Don Schlitten (born 1932) and managed by Gentry McCreary (born 1941). Its address was ...

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 ...

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

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 l ...

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 ...

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 Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...

, with

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

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 ...

: * ''How Can You Face Me?'' * ''

Keepin' Out of Mischief Now "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now" is a 1932 song composed by Fats Waller with lyrics by Andy Razaf. It was recorded by Louis Armstrong in March 1932. Other recordings *In 1963 it was covered by Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ...

'' * ''(What Did I Do To Be So) Black And Blue'' * ''Zonky''

Nat Jaffe Trio (1944)

The Nat Jaffe Trio, with guitarist

Remo Palmieri Remo Paul Palmier (March 29, 1923 – February 2, 2002) was an American jazz guitarist. Career Palmier began his career as a musician during the 1940s, and collaborated with Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Teddy Wilson. ...

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 conc ...

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. He ...

on trumpet and

Specs Powell Gordon "Specs" Powell (June 5, 1922 – September 15, 2007) was an American jazz drummer who began performing in the swing era. Career Specs was the first black staff musician hired by CBS in 1943. Born in New York City, he started on pi ...

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 Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

Nat Jaffe Nat Jaffe (January 1, 1918 – August 5, 1945) was an American swing jazz pianist. He was married to singer Shirley Lloyd. Jaffe lived in Berlin from 1921 to 1932, where he received classical training on piano. Upon his return to the U.S., he bega ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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