Dick Hyman...An American jazz pianist/keyboardist and composer "who is best known for his versatility with jazz piano styles".
Scott Joplin...An African-American composer and pianist. Joplin was dubbed "The King of Ragtime". One of his first pieces, Maple Leaf Rag, became ragtime's first and most influential hit.
Although ragtime was not a big attraction during the 1930s and 1940s, it was still played, and not just by pianists. Oftentimes a dance band recorded an up-to-date swing version of "Maple Leaf Rag." But more often than not, ragtime, when offered, would be played as quaint nostalgia with its characteristics parodied.
But ragtime also had advocates--its composers, practitioners, and admirers. Of latter, Rudi Blesh [wrote the liner notes on this box set] was greatly responsible for re-popularizing ragtime. Blesh, a student of art, architecture, and early jazz, came to New York from Berkeley, California, in 1945, while writing a book about the history of jazz. He and his colleague and companion, Harriet Janis, began Circle Records shortly thereafter.
Circle was the first record label to issue recordings from Jelly Roll Morton's 1938 recordings made at the Library of Congress. These recordings prompted much enthusiasm about early jazz styles and ragtime. Circle Records also issued a 3-disc album by jazz clarinetist Tony Parenti and his "Ragtimers," an ad-hoc jazz band playing ragtime based loosely on old stock arrangements. The album included Joplin's "Swipesy Cake Walk" and James Scott's "Grace and Beauty." The combination of these jazzmen's sensibilities combined with the formality of the old written arrangements yielded outstanding results.
Blesh and Janis set about researching ragtime in earnest. Their monumental book They All Played Ragtime was published in 1950.
The 1968 Columbia Records release of "The Eighty-Six Years of Eubie Blake" was another milestone in the comeback of ragtime. Blake, a skilled composer and pianist was also one of the creators of the 1921 show "Shuffle Along" an important and ground breaking all-black music revue. As a child Blake studied piano formally at home in Baltimore. But he used to sneak out at night to hear the pianists in the low-down saloons nearby.
Blake's wide range of musical endeavors (including an ever-growing classical technique) led him to become familiar, even expert in ragtime. He ultimately composed a number of fine rags himself. As his 1968 recording shows, he was a vastly entertaining, vital performer--dexterous of hand and quick-witted.
Blake swiftly found a new career--traveling the world and appearing on the concert stage. He also was a frequent guest on late-night television talk shows, where he was always introduced to the millions of viewers as a ragtime pianist.
Ragtime, like any other music, must be heard and really cannot be defined by words--just as words cannot be defined by music. But through more than 100 years, ragtime has had no trouble making its presence known and its composers, performers, and admirers all look forward to its future.
Tracklist:
Record 1 Side 1: Rags: 1899-1901
01 Maple Leaf Rag
02 Original Rags
03 Swipesy
04 Peacherine Rag
05 The Easy Winners
06 Sunflower Slow Drag
Record 1 Side 2: Rags: 1902-1903
07 The Entertainer
08 Elite Syncopations
09 The Strenuous Life
10 A Breeze from Alabama
11 Palm Leaf Rag
12 Something Doing
Record 2 Side 3: Rags: 1903-1905
01 Weeping Willow
02 The Chrysanthemum
03 The Cascades
04 The Sycamore
05 The Favorite
06 Leola
Record 2 Side 4: Rags: 1905-1907
07 The Ragtime Dance
08 Eugenia
09 Lily Queen
10 Gladiolus Rag
11 Nonpareil
12 Heliotrope Bouquet
Record 3 Side 5: Rags: 1907-1909
01 Search-Light Rag
02 Rose Leaf Rag
03 Fig Leaf Rag
04 Pine Apple Rag
05 Solace
06 Sugar Cane
Record 3 Side 6: Rags: 1909-1911
07 Stoptime Rag
08 Euphonic Sounds
09 Country Club
10 Wall Street Rag
11 Felicity Rag
12 Paragon Rag
Record 4 Side 7: Rags: 1912-1917
01 Scott Joplin's New Rag
02 Silver Swan Rag
03 Kismet Rag
04 Magnetic Rag
05 Reflection Rag
Record 4 Side 8: Marches
06 Antoinette
07 Cleopha
08 March Majestic
09 Combination March
10 Rosebud
11 Great Crush Collision
12 Great Crush Collision (Ragtime Version-Arr.: Hyman)
13 School of Ragtime (Narration: Eubie Blake)
Record 5 Side 9: Waltzes
01 Bethena
02 Binks' Waltz
03 Pleasant Moments
04 Augustan Club Waltz
05 Harmony Club Waltz
Record 5 Side 10: Improvisations by Dick Hyman
06 The Entertainer
07 Heliotrope Bouquet
08 Fig Leaf Rag
09 Stoptime Rag
10 Pleasant Moments
11 Gladiolus Rag
12 Peacherine Rag
13 Elite Syncopations
14 A Breeze from Alabama
15 Scott Joplin's New Rag
16 Something Doing
17 The Chrysanthemum
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