Latch On!
Here's my transcription of Latch On!, the 4th in my series devoted to Fats' group of instrumentals later published as Fats Wallers' Swingopations.
I've included Fats' intro piano solo and his final chorus/ending of the performance, with a few guesses in the left hand, where necessary due to audibility reasons.
Fats is exploring some really interesting harmonies here, especially with his extensive use of a minor/major 7th chord, surely an innovative choice at the time. The 1st section consists of a "melody" made up of a repeating four-note [G-A-B-A] riff over a C minor - G7 chord sequence which briefly modulates to a C-Fm-D7-G7 chord sequence for the 2nd section. The piece is more harmony-driven than melody-driven but is still quite evocative, almost hypnotic and has a kind of "Eastern European" flavour to my ears. As ever, Fats can swing the life out of anything!
N.B. My chord symbols are just a guide. There may seem to be conflicts between the right-hand and left-hand harmonies - G7 in the RH with a D7 in the LH for example. These moments are just fleeting and are all part of the spontaneity of jazz! What is most important is maintaining the constant pulse, momentum and swing, which we all know Fats had in spades!
Here's the original performance for the ultimate performance reference:
And here's the published version:
Youtube.com noteman
