Watching footage of Fats Waller and when he plays those descending arpeggios it’s all middle, index, thumb which isn’t the most surprising method but then in the Paul McCartney-Rick Ruben conversations, Paul demonstrates how he started writing at the piano, I think he references Fats Waller or Fats Domino’s influence on him and John Lennon but what stood out was his right hand triads, all played without his thumb which upsets me viscerally. Saw footage one time of Otis Spann playing blues and his left hand kept the pattern sans thumb, weirdest most unnatural thing I ever saw. The other wild thing viewing footage of Fats Waller is his mugging for the camera with widest eyes and calisthenic eyebrows. I bet Little Richard viewed that footage more than once. Favourite quote is when Art Tatum enters an after hours club, and Fats Waller at the piano acknowledges him by informing the crowd, “I only play the piano but tonight God is in the house”.