Features and Reviews
OTMH Ragtime Festival 2004
By Bill Mitchell
Yvonne and I played hooky from last month's Rose Leaf Club meeting in order to attend the matinee/finale of the 29th Annual Ragtime Festival at OTMH. Two of the three performances were Saturday, but we were unable to make either. The Sunday matinee drew very nearly a full house of demonstratively enthusiastic ragtime fans.
The customary line-up of four pianists included three festival veterans: Kathy Craig, Robbie Rhodes, and Alex Hassan. The newcomer, Frederick Hodges, is a Bay Area pianist who has been featured with San Francisco's Royal Society Jazz Orchestra.
Kathy opened the program with three classic rags: Scott Joplin's "Sugar Cane" and "Wall Street Rag," and "Sleepy Hollow Rag," by Clarence Woods. Her playing was characterized by tasteful dynamics, graceful tempos, and overall elegance. Kathy invited Robbie Rhodes to join her on a duet of Zez Confrey's novelty classic, "Stumbling." There was obviously no stumbling, however; the duo was sure-footed all the way.
Robbie began his solo segment with "Little John's Rag," a number composed and recorded by San Francisco trombonist/bandleader Turk Murphy around 1950. He followed up with "First Step One-Step," a busy and lively original by Wally Rose, pianist with Lu Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band and later with Turk Murphy's Jazz Band. He concluded with "Florida Blues," a rarity by William King Phillips. Robbie's frisky and inventive style decidedly shows a Wally Rose influence. The third pianist of the afternoon, Alex Hassan, joined Robbie to play an arrangement of Walter Donaldson's "My Baby Just Cares for Me."
Instead of playing three numbers, Alex chose to play an extended medley of his own devising which he called "Merrie Melodies Grand Fantasy." This included themes from the Warner Brothers classic cartoons of the 1930s and 1940s. On this musical carousel we heard such tunes as "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down," "Shake Your Powder Puff," and "Merrily We Roll Along." Alex has an off-the-wall sense of humor, and rarely completes a sentence that isn't funny. Humor also pervades his playing.
Frederick Hodges began his set with something called "Dainty Miss," but, unfortunately, I did not catch the composer's name. He continued with a 1922 number by Rube Bloom called "That Futuristic Rag." Luckey Roberts' "Pork and Beans" was next in line, and George Cobb's famous "Russian Rag" (borrowing themes from Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in C # Minor") rounded out the set. The suave Mr. Hodges is good at patter and has impressive chops at the keyboard.
To conclude the first half of the program, the four pianists contributed their eight hands on a rousing arrangement of the Irving Berlin standard, "Alexander's Ragtime Band." (The fact that the audience was audibly enthusiastic when this title was announced goes to show you that familiarity does not necessarily breed contempt. Old favorites will always be welcome.)
After intermission, Kathy returned to the Bosendorfer to play Joplin's stately "Magnetic Rag" and James Scott's frisky "Hilarity Rag." She included some tasteful embellishments in the fourth strain of the latter.
Robbie favored us with a Maceo Pinkard medley of "I Wonder What's Become of Joe" and "Sweet Man." He followed up with "Echo of Spring," a charming composition by Willie "The Lion" Smith that is one of Robbie's most requested numbers. He concluded his segment with Max Kortlander's "Blue Clover," a novelty from 1920 sporting some figures that suggest what would later be called boogie-woogie.
Frederick returned to play Nacio Herb Brown's "The Doll Dance," a hit when it came out in 1927 and a standard ever since. James P. Johnson's "Daintiness Rag" was given an impressive fast stride treatment. This was followed by another essay in virtuosity, Eubie Blake's "Tricky Fingers." Frederick invited Alex to join him on a duet of "After You've Gone," as arranged by Vee. Longhurst and Muriel Pollack. They were assisted by Kathy and Robbie as page-turners. (Alex acknowledged Kathy as "Miss Page Turner.")
Alex played a novelty number from 1930 by a Czechoslovakian composer. Unfortunately I was unable to catch the title of the piece or the composer's name, and probably couldn't spell them if I had. Alex then injected an impromptu performance of Lamb's "Cottontail Rag." Someone in the audience had requested it, but Alex had told him that he did not remember it all that well. Not to worry! The patron just happened to have the score of the rag in his car. Alex, being a crack reader, had no problem with it, and it was fascinating to see and hear him reading the score and at the same time including embellishments of his own, including a flashy double-time ending. He completed his set with an obscure Zez Confrey novelty, "Sports Model Encore."
The time had arrived for the wrap-up, so Alex called up what he called "the octopus" (forty fingers in all) for an arrangement of Muriel Pollack's "Rooster Rag." As an encore, the octopus performed a sprightly piece called "Yes,Yes, My Baby Says Yes, Yes." Frederick Hodges bounded up from the piano to do the vocal on this rouser. And on this affirmative note, the elated audience exited the hall to be greeted by the performers at the entrance.
More OTMH Ragtime Festival Reviews:
2006 Festival
2005 Festival
2003 Festival
2002 Festival
2001 Festival
2000 Festival
1999 Festival
