Features and Reviews
Mimi Blais at Old Town Music Hall, 2/14/2001
By Bill Mitchell
For its first ragtime concert of the twenty-first century the Old Town Music Hall presented Mimi Blais on the evening of February 14, Valentine's day. Montreal's gift to ragtime regaled an audience of aficionados with an ambitious program that ran close to three hours.
Mimi came on stage costumed in an eye-filling gauzy black dress and hat with black feathers, a revealing outfit that suggested a resident of an early 20th century sporting district. And indeed, she indulged in a little role playing by introducing herself as a ragtime pianist of 1919 who had been around the block. She began reminiscing about Tom Turpin's Rosebud Café in St. Louis, which lead her into playing a couple of Turpin's compositions, "Harlem Rag" and "A Ragtime Nightmare."
She recalled Joplin as "the Mozart of ragtime," then wittily playing some of "Maple Leaf Rag" in a delicate Mozartean Style. It wasn't long before she switched gears and the MLF emerged in full-blown syncopated glory.
Joseph F. Lamb was dubbed "the Chopin of ragtime." We were treated to a fine version of "Ragtime Nightingale," in which Lamb did actually include a quote from that composer in the rag's first section.
For a change of pace Mimi played a medley of Joplin waltzes, including "Bethena" and "Bink's Waltz." She commented that Joplin might additionally qualify as "the Strauss of ragtime."
To illustrate the use of the piano as accompaniment to silent films she performed George Botsford's "Black and White Rag" in both ¾ and 2/4 time (depending on what might have been appropriate to the action on the screen).
Ms. Blais, a champion of the Montreal composer Jean Baptiste Lafreniere, played two of his pieces. "Valse Miroir" was a somewhat lengthy but melodious waltz. "Taxi Rag," fast and furious, brought us to intermission time.
We were in for a surprise when Mimi came back on stage after a change of outfit (and gender), impersonating an early 20th century sport with straw hat, striped blazer, and handlebar mustache which she twitched frequently in Chaplinesque fashion.
Progressing to the era of novelty piano, she whipped out a dazzling arrangement of "Kitten on the Keys" (Zes Confrey) and segued into a slow "Memphis Blues" (S. C. Handy). She spoke of the early George Gershwin and played his "Rialto Ripples," written when he was still a teen-ager. She commented that Gershwin was the only white person at Scott Joplin's New York funeral. She then interpreted a more reflective later composition of George Gershwin: "Summertime," from Porgy and Bess.
Willie Eckstein's "Musical Massacre" came across as a real show-stopper. Like Lafreniere, Eckstein was a Montreal performer/composer, outstanding virtuoso performer, and piano roll artist of the 1920s.
Returning to the New York scene, Mr. Blais served up a tasty helping of "Pork and Beans," a rag by that master of Harlem stride, Luckey Roberts.
Assuming the role of a song-plugger, Mimi performed "Goodby Broadway, Hello Montreal."
A short tribute to Eubie Blake included his wonderful standard, "Memories of You," and the frisky "Eubie's Classical Rag." (Or was it "Kitchen Tom?" I didn't catch the title and am making a semi-educated guess on this one.)
Mimi briefly discussed ragtime's origin, and after turning on a tape of some African drums followed by a hummed "Amazing Grace," she dashed backstage for a few moments and emerged in yet a third costume. This time she had on black slacks, a colorful blouse, no hat, and was barefoot (with green toenails). She was outfitted for the concluding third of the 20th century in ragtime, an era that began with "The Sting" in 1970, a hit movie that included music by Scott Joplin. Mimi played two of the pieces featured in that film: "The Entertainer" and "Solace."
Then, to include the new ragtime, she played what she deemed the most important rag since "The Sting" was released. You guessed it, "Roberto Clemente," by David Thomas Roberts. She followed with one of her own contemporary pieces, "The Streets of San Francisco."
Mentioning the new ragtime offshoot called "terra verde," she played another of her own compositions in this idiom. Dedicated to Scott Kirby, one of the exponents of terra verde, it was a pensive, romantic piece in a minor key. I did not catch the title, unfortunately.
Mimi concluded her program with her musical trademark, "Dizzy Fingers," a version which includes a bit of everything ("Rhapsody in Blue," "Flight of the Bumble Bee," "Polonaise," etc.).
Encores consisted of two duets with Bill Coffman on the Mighty Wurlitzer, "Swipesy Cakewalk" and "Black and White Rag."
As anyone who has ever heard her knows, Mimi Blais is an immensely talented pianist with powerful, impeccable technique, wide emotional range, and a great comic sense. Her popularity is well deserved.
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