Features and Reviews
26th OTMH Ragtime Festival, 2001
By Ron Ross
For the 26th year in a row, the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo presented its annual Southern California Ragtime Festival over a three-day span, June 15-17, hosted by proprietor Bill Coffman. As always, Mr. Coffman welcomed the near-packed house with his sardonic one-liners and Don Rickles-ish wit. This year's performers were, once again, Robbie Rhodes, Jim Turner, Alex Hassan and Kathy Craig.
After softening up the crowd with some verbal left-hooks and disarming humor, Mr. Coffman introduced the first performer, Robbie Rhodes. Robbie opened with "Stormin' the Castle," a 1976 Mississippi Valley rag composed by Bob Ault. Its name is in reference to a gentlemen's club in the old Red Light district of St. Louis.
Next, Robbie performed "Steppin' Out," a late-'20s novelty by Con Conrad. He followed up with Jimmy Blythe's "Carolina Stomp," a very lively piece to which I could imagine "flappers" dancing.
Jim Turner joined Robbie for a duet on the Joplin/Marshall favorite, "Swipesy Cakewalk". Jim carried on alone, playing a spirited, improvised version of Joplin's "Solace" (too fast and jumpy for my taste). This was followed by what I consider Jim Turner's signature performance, Johnny Guarnieri's brilliant novelty "The Dazzler" a playful, inventive finger-buster. Jim closed his first set with a waltz medley-Victor Young's "Beautiful Love" and stride pianist James P. Johnson's wonderful "Old Fashioned Love."
Alex Hassan, a defense department staffer who comes all the way from Virginia to appear at this festival, began with a name-that-composer medley. The tunes were "We're in the Money", "I Gotta Sing a Torch Song", "You're an Education", "Petting in the Park", "I'll String Along With You" and "Forty-Second Street." Whereupon the composer's name was revealed for those not in the know (Harry Warren). He followed with another medley, this time music from the one and two-reelers of the 1930s, all composed by M.K. Jerome.
Kathy Craig joined Alex for Joseph Lamb's "Cottontail" which I thought was one of the more marvelous ragtime duets I have ever heard. Kathy played the basic score, while Alex brilliantly improvised harmonies and counterpoints.
Kathy then soloed on another composition by one of the "Big Three" of classic ragtime, James Scott. She chose his light "Hilarity Rag," which she executed flawlessly. Next was her own "Romantic Rag," which won the ragtime contest in 1974 at the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia (MO). From there, she moved back to Joplin with "The Strenuous Life" and concluded with "Misery Rag," a marvelous takeoff on "Le Miserere" from the Italian opera "Il Trovatore."
Jim Turner opened the second half of the show with "Poor Butterfly," a Golden/ Hubbell song from 1916. Next was the difficult stride cutting contest piece, "Fingerbuster," by Willie "The Lion" Smith. Jim closed his second set with Eubie Blake's "Chevy Chase," in a duet with Kathy Craig.
Kathy continued solo, playing Lamb's "Ethiopia" and E. T. Paull's "Ben Hur Chariot Race March," which she told us was part of a series of elaborately illustrated sheet music covers.
Robbie Rhodes returned to play "Estelle," a novelty number; then "Triangle Jazz Blues" by Irvin P. LeClere, a piece in a class by itself. Alex returned to join Robbie on "Charlie My Boy", then played three of Robin Frost's very difficult to play but always fun to hear novelties-"What a Dream", "Whipped Cream" and "Lime Pudding".
As a finale, the four pianists were joined, as usual, by Bill Coffman at the mighty Wurlitzer organ on George Botsford's "Black and White Rag" and Joplin's "Pine Apple Rag" to well-deserved tumultuous applause by the large audience.
More OTMH Ragtime Festival Reviews:
2006 Festival
2005 Festival
2004 Festival
2003 Festival
2002 Festival
2000 Festival
1999 Festival
