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Bringing Back Fats

A revival of Ain't Misbehavin', featuring the original cast, is now playing on Broadway. Critic-at-large Laurie Stone says she jumped at the chance to see it. Overacting and exaggerated choreography plagued the first act, but the cast showed restraint during the last half.

03:26
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Other segments from the episode on September 2, 1988

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, September 2, 1988: Interview with Ben E. King; Commentary on Jelly Roll Morton; Interview with Shawn Slovo; Review of the musical "Ain't Misbehaving'."
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26:55

Ben E. King: The Fresh Air Interview

The hit songwriter sang bass with the doo-wop group The Crowns; he switched to lead vocals when they became The Drifters. King got his start at Harlem's Apollo Theater before finding national fame. As a solo performer, he had hits with original songs like "Stand by Me" and "Spanish Harlem."

Interview
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07:00

The Evolution of Jazz Piano

New Fresh Air performer-in-residence Dick Hyman plays some of the music of Jelly Roll Morton. Hyman says the pianist and composer bridged the gap between ragtime and jazz, incorporating the phrasing and style of wind and reed players.

Commentary
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09:44

Portraying an Activist Family Onscreen

Shawn Slovo based her screenplay for A World Apart on her experiences growing up under apartheid in South Africa. Her parents were white activists in the African National Congress; her mother was a journalist who was imprisoned; her father was forced out of the country.

Interview

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05:16

Guitarist Al Casey: Defining the Sound of Fats Waller

Guitarist Al Casey died Sunday of colon cancer at age 89, days short of his 90th birthday on Sept. 15. Casey's distinctive style helped to define the sound of Fats Waller's band in the 1930s and 1940s. Casey also played with Louis Armstrong, Teddy Wilson and Billie Holliday. (This interview originally aired May 19, 2004.)

Obituary
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27:32

A Tribute to Fats Waller

We rebroadcast a tribute to the great vocalist and composer Thomas "Fats" Waller from May 19, 2004. Guitarist and singer Marty Grosz and cornet player Randy Reinhart join us for a special in-studio performance in honor of Waller's 100th birthday. Waller wrote many hit songs, appeared in films in the 1930s and '40s, and wrote Broadway musicals.

Interview

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