Zonky

Here's Fats at a breathtaking tempo, playing one of his own songs co-written with Andy Razaf, Zonky, as played during the brilliant Associated Transcription session of 1935.

Fats plays 3 choruses of the bluesy tune each time demonstrating his boundless improvisational skills, played with an unfaltering swing and momentum. The huge spans in both hands are perfectly executed despite the awkward key of Fmin and its accompanying Ab and Db tenths!

Here's the original performance:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3AkkUE4JRczceMQbq73NBI?si=ba193964b9c14267

Fats never recorded the song sung with lyrics but here it is performed by the Clarence Williams band in 1929 with Eva Taylor on vocals and none other than Fats' piano mentor, James P. Johnson on the piano:

https://youtu.be/eVRc5Ix7q9k

Youtube.com noteman