Fats Navarro
Theodore "Fats" Navarro (September 24, 1923 – July 7, 1950) was an American jazz trumpet player and a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s. A native of Key West, Florida, he toured with big bands before achieving fame as a bebop trumpeter in New York. Following a series of studio sessions with leading bebop figures including Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell, and Kenny Clarke, he became ill with tuberculosis and died at the age of 26. Despite the short duration of his career, he had a strong stylistic influence on trumpet players who rose to fame in later decades, including Miles Davis, Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan. |
Birth and Death Data: Born September 24, 1923 (Key West (county seat of Monroe County, Florida, United States)), Died July 7, 1950 (New York City (most populous city in the United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1946 - 1949
Roles Represented in DAHR: trumpet
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | D6VB-2792 | 10-in. | 9/5/1946 | Epistrophy | 52nd Street Boys ; Kenny Clarke | Jazz/dance ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Victor | D6VB-2795 | 10-in. | 9/5/1946 | Royal roost | 52nd Street Boys ; Kenny Clarke | Jazz/dance ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Victor | D7VB-2659 | 10-in. | 12/11/1947 | April in Paris | Coleman Hawkins Orchestra | Instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Victor | D7VB-2660 | 10-in. | 12/11/1947 | How strange | Coleman Hawkins Orchestra | Instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Victor | D7VB-2661 | 10-in. | 12/11/1947 | Half step down, please | Coleman Hawkins Orchestra | Instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Victor | D9VB-0021 | 10-in. | 1/3/1949 | Overtime | Metronome All Stars | Jazz/dance band, with solos | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Victor | D9VB-0022 | 10-in. | 1/3/1949 | Victory ball | Metronome All Stars | Jazz/dance band, with solos | instrumentalist, trumpet |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Navarro, Fats," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/372316.
Navarro, Fats. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/372316.
"Navarro, Fats." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Fats Navarro
Discogs: Fats Navarro
Allmusic: Fats Navarro
Grove: Fats Navarro
RILM: Fats Navarro
Britannica: Fats Navarro
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Navarro, Fats, 1923-1950 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n91009971
Wikidata: Fats Navarro - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q711198
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/7574828
MusicBrainz: Fats Navarro - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/d2a135f4-bb6b-4fb6-a09b-115e740b7fe0
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1731835 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1731835
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.