Nick Fatool

A high drummer from the 1930’s and 40’s, Nick Fatool was best-known for his association with Bob Crosby and dixieland configurations. Strangely enough, he didn’t regularly use Crosby until 1949 and he spent the majority of his formative years playing in swing-oriented big rings. Fatool began playing drums in Providence, Rhode Isle and then experienced stints with Joe Haymes in 1937 and Don Beston’s music group in Dallas. In 1939, after briefly dealing with Bobby Hackett, Fatool strike the big style by becoming a member of Benny Goodman’s Orchestra. He produced his documenting debut with BG and in addition documented with Ziggy Elman’s studio room rings and Lionel Hampton (1940). Fatool was the drummer with a number of major big rings including Artie Shaw (1940-41), Claude Thornhill, Les Dark brown, Jan Savitt and Alvino Rey (1942-43). He relocated to LA in 1943, became a studio room musician and after that recorded thoroughly and performed in a number of configurations, many of that have been dixieland-oriented. Among his many associations had been Harry Wayne, Erroll Garner (1946), Louis Armstrong (in 1949 and 1951), Jess Stacy, Tommy Dorsey, Matty Matlock’s many recordings within the 1950’s, Glen Gray’s nostalgic big music group tasks, such soundtracks as Pete Kelly’s Blues as well as the Five Pennies, & most significantly Bob Crosby. He was with Crosby during a lot of 1949-51 and on / off with Crosby’s Bobcats (in the location previously occupied by Ray Bauduc) through the following three years. Fatool also made an appearance at many all-star dixieland concerts from the 1950’s and performed fairly frequently with Pete Fountain (1962-65) as well as the Dukes Of Dixieland. In 1987 Nick Fatool finally experienced his only chance to business lead a recording time, a septet jam that also included Eddie Miller, Johnny Mince and Ernie Carson. That music, and also a quintet outing going by Bud Freeman from 1982, have already been combined in the Jazzology Compact disc Nick Fatool’s Jazz Music group & Quartet.