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Songs, novelty rags, banjo and percussion spice up September 2010 OCRS at Steamers

Our last OCRS of 2010 produced a small turnout of both musicians and audience. Just the same, the presence of Jimmy Green on banjo and Durand Stewart on drums and percussion spiced up many of the selections, which included a good portion of novelty rags and well-known songs.


Marilyn Martin got things rolling with “The Foot Warmer,” a fine teens pop rag by Harry S. Puck, adding a new intro. and closing the piece with a classical piano ending. Marilyn then played Vince Guaraldi’s jazzy, habañera-style main title music from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” She ended her set with 1907’s “Heliotrope Bouquet,” with its haunting, bittersweet opening themes by Louis Chauvin and its more conventional classic-rag closing themes by Scott Joplin.


MC Eric Marchese offered a 1916 Paul Pratt rag previously unplayed at an OCRS: “Spring-Time Rag.” Eric said this was one of only three Paul Pratt rags to garner the attention and respect of publisher John Stark (the other two are “Hot House Rag” from 1914 and “On the Rural Route” from 1917). The piece, Eric noted, features gorgeous chromatic harmonies and is at least partly based on Mendelsohn’s “Spring Song.” Eric’s next selection was a rarity: the 1915 rag “Come Across” by Mel B. Kaufman. During the teens, Kaufman was a leading composer of dance tunes, with one-steps as his specialty (Eric noted that most of Kaufman’s one-steps were easier to play than most teens piano ragtime, giving amateur pianists of the day a chance to learn and perform ragtime). Just the same, Kaufman wrote many fine piano rags, including “Come Across”; the rag’s highlight is its wonderful trio, in which the thumbline plays a countermelody.


Eric closed his set with another OCRS first: “Car-Barlick Acid Rag-Time,” a great Folk rag by Clarence Wiley. Wiley was a pharmacist from Oskaloosa, Iowa. He completed and copyrighted his only rag in 1901, publishing it two years later with an amusing cover that included his photo. By 1904 the rag was so popular that it was purchased by Giles Brothers, who sold it out of offices on both sides of the Mississippi River, in Quincy, Ill., and Hannibal, Mo. The rag’s popularity continued to climb, being sold again in 1907, this time to Remick. Each edition – 1903, 1904 and 1907 – has a new cover but the same music. Jasen and Tichenor have called “one of the most rollicking Folk rags ever written,” and Eric said he has tons of fun playing this rag.


Vincent Johnson opened his set with the 1929 novelty “Pianogram” by Ralph Rainger, best known for the pop song “Thanks for the Memory.” Its opening section and trio are jazzy, Impressionistic foxtrots, while the B theme is in stoptime. Vincent then featured two novelties by Lothar Perl, who was born in Germany exactly a century ago. Vincent said he fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s, arriving in Los Angeles, and that he wrote at least 15 novelties. From 1933, “The Goldfish” was an OCRS premiere, with a dreamy, pretty A theme, a still-pretty yet peppier dotted-note B section and a trio that combines features of A and B. The entire piece moves dreamily up and down major scales – much like a goldfish moving around in water. Vincent wound up his set with another 1933 Perl novelty he has frequently played at OCRS: “Hollywood Stars.” Vincent said Perl had recorded several 78s while in Germany, all of them exceedingly scarce today. Luckily, he noted, after arriving in Hollywood, Perl recorded a 78 of “Hollywood Stars,” with “Goldfish” on the flip side. “Hollywood” has a gorgeous, dreamy A theme, a second theme that mixes major and minor to dramatic effect, and a tranquil trio featuring beautiful harmonies.


Ron Ross gave us a couple of his comedic songs – “Good Thing Going” and “I’m Just Not Getting Over You,” the latter describing not a sweetheart from a broken romance, but an impossible-to-shake head cold. Ron ended his set with Joe Lamb’s 1916 masterpiece “Patricia Rag,” whose opening theme mirrors the structure of “Maple Leaf’s” A theme. The second theme skillfully uses sequences and minor harmonies, the trio has long, flowing treble lines and a break in the bass, and the closing theme features syncopations that cross the bar line and a rhythm frequently found in Joplin’s rags (eg. “Original Rags,” “The Entertainer,” “Gladiolus Rag,” “Pine Apple Rag” etc.). Bravo to Ron for tackling this difficult classic rag.


Shirley Case continued with more Lamb: This time, “American Beauty Rag” (1913), one of the greatest rags of all time. Shirley’s arrangement adds long treble runs in 16th notes and parallel motion to neat effect, plus a new trick: bringing the treble line below middle C. Next up, Hal Isbitz’s “La Mariposa” (“the butterfly”), a syncopated tango from 1984. The piece is laid out in rondo format (ABCBA), with a light, busy A strain, a B theme that uses a habañera bass and a slow, misterioso trio that offers drastic changes in tempo and mood. All three sections feature pretty melodies and harmonies. Shirley ended her set with “Eubie’s Classical Rag,” noting “I love playing it on this piano” (Steamers’ Yamaha grand). Before starting, Shirley demonstrated how the piano’s middle pedal allows the pianist to properly perform the trio, sustaining the section’s initial bass notes while the theme’s downward melody is executed with both hands. Penned after he had been rediscovered by the ragtime community, Eubie wrote the piece in 1972 when he was nearly 90 years old. It’s not only a great classic rag but is indeed classical in style and sound.


Bill Mitchell took to the piano and asked Jimmy Green to join him on banjo for his set. Bill and Jimmy opened with Wenrich’s great 1907 rag “The Smiler,” following it with a medley of Wenrich song hits, including “When You Wore a Tulip” and “On Moonlight Bay.” They closed their set with James Scott’s wonderful “Evergreen Rag” from 1915. Considered a lighter rag than most of Scott’s output, it features delicate melodies yet forceful rhythms. Jimmy’s banjo-playing added immeasurably to Bill’s pianistics.
Vincent took to the stage for his second set, introducing drummer and percussionist Durand Stewart in his first appearance at OCRS. They opened with “Maple Leaf Rag,” jazzed and embellished by Vincent, with Durand providing a variety of rhythms. Eubie Blake’s “Baltimore Todolo” offered more forceful work by Vincent. The guys closed with “Kitten on the Keys,” with the trio given a piano break in which to feature Durand’s drumming.


Eric offered three more pieces not previously played at OCRS, all three published in Chicago. He opened with “Blue Moon,” composed by Max Kortlander and Lee S. Roberts and published by Roberts in 1918. Eric noted that this was one of two “Blue Moons” from the ragtime era, the other being E.M. Cook’s from 1906. As befits its title, the rag has a bluesy feel to it. Next up was Eric’s instrumental version of the second-biggest song hit from 1910: Tell Taylor’s “Down by the Old Mill Stream.” The only 1910 song to outsell this one, Eric said, was Friedman and Whitson’s “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.” Eric closed his set with what is considered George L. Cobb’s best rag, “The Midnight Trot.” From 1916, its minor-key main theme (the A section) sets the tone for the piece, a maxixe that was performed by vaudeville dancer Maizie King. The rag’s highlight is its trio, which features a number of harmonically adventurous key changes.


Shirley encored with one of the greatest classic rags, Scott’s “Frog Legs,” and Luckey Roberts’ 1913 showpiece, “Pork and Beans.” Ron’s encores were two originals: “Digital Rag” and the more recent “Orange County Rag.” Written in 2007 to commemorate RagFest, “Orange County” has a tango-like opening theme, a minor-key second theme and a Lambesque trio.


Andrew Barrett opened his first set with Charlotte Blake’s wonderful “Wish-Bone Rag” from 1909, taking it at a pleasingly unforced tempo. Its opening them uses the three-over-four pattern to good effect, its second theme is soft and gentle but with hints of humor, and its trio is soft and genteel. Andrew then invited Durand to join him on Charley Straight’s 1916 hit “Hot Hands.” Andrew created several breaks to showcase Durand’s drumming and, on the piano, added an “echo” effect not found in the score. Andrew and Durand closed with “Lila,” a 1928 song hit by Maceo Pinkard, who is best known for “Sweet Georgia Brown.” Like all of Pinkard’s music, this is a boisterous, well-constructed piece. Andrew made sure to build breaks into his performance to highlight Durand’s fine percussion work.


Noting that the only Joplin heard this afternoon was “Maple Leaf,” and that Joplin reworked the opening theme of his greatest rag many times – in “The Sycamore,” “The Cascades,” “Leola,” “Gladiolus Rag,” “Sugar Cane” and even “Prelude to Act 2” of “Treemonisha” – Eric played “Gladiolus.” He then asked Jimmy Green to join him on “Pine Apple Rag.”


Jimmy remained on stage to accompany Bill on Charles Hunter’s masterpiece “’Possum and ’Taters, a Ragtime Feast,” a very lively early (1900) rag from Tennessee. Next up was the equally lively “Glad Rag” by composer J. Bodewalt Lampe. Lampe was born in Ribe, Denmark, so for this rag he used the pseudonym “Ribe Danmark.” The 1910 rag features a pronounced downward run in its main theme. Bill and Jimmy closed with the Tom Turpin masterpiece “St. Louis Rag,” written in 1903 to commemorate the upcoming St. Louis World’s Fair. On all three pieces in this set, Jimmy’s banjo-playing provided terrific accompaniment.


Vincent stared his encore set with Arthur Schutt’s “Rambling in Rhythm” (1927). Part of this piece are delicate, but its highlights are its intricate, minor-key B theme and an A theme that creates an Oriental effect through the use of fourths built into the treble’s octaves. Next up was one of Vincent’s latest novelties: “Sweet Pea,” written earlier this year in the style of Billy Mayerl. Soft and pretty, it’s in Mayerl’s best cocktail lounge style, with a wonderful B theme and a lovely trio.


Vincent asked Durand to join him in ending the set with two great novelties: Ted Shapiro’s “Putting on the Dog” (1923) and Arthur Schutt’s “Bluin’ the Black Keys” (1926). “Dog” has a wonderful trio and opens and closes with a lively and intricate A theme, punched up by Durand. The guys used the lively, kinetic and strongly rhythmic “Black Keys” to cap a wonderful afternoon of ragtime music.


Next up is RagFest 2010, with continuous live music at Steamers, Mo’s and Max Bloom’s Cafe Noir during the day and a variety-style Ragtime Revue show at Mo’s at 8 p.m. October 16. See you all then and there!


Songs, novelty rags, banjo and percussion spice up September 2010 OCRS at Steamers
Our last OCRS of 2010 produced a small turnout of both musicians and audience. Just the same, the presence of Jimmy Green on banjo and Durand Stewart on drums and percussion spiced up many of the selections, which included a good portion of novelty rags and well-known songs.


Marilyn Martin got things rolling with “The Foot Warmer,” a fine teens pop rag by Harry S. Puck, adding a new intro. and closing the piece with a classical piano ending. Marilyn then played Vince Guaraldi’s jazzy, habañera-style main title music from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” She ended her set with 1907’s “Heliotrope Bouquet,” with its haunting, bittersweet opening themes by Louis Chauvin and its more conventional classic-rag closing themes by Scott Joplin.


MC Eric Marchese offered a 1916 Paul Pratt rag previously unplayed at an OCRS: “Spring-Time Rag.” Eric said this was one of only three Paul Pratt rags to garner the attention and respect of publisher John Stark (the other two are “Hot House Rag” from 1914 and “On the Rural Route” from 1917). The piece, Eric noted, features gorgeous chromatic harmonies and is at least partly based on Mendelsohn’s “Spring Song.” Eric’s next selection was a rarity: the 1915 rag “Come Across” by Mel B. Kaufman. During the teens, Kaufman was a leading composer of dance tunes, with one-steps as his specialty (Eric noted that most of Kaufman’s one-steps were easier to play than most teens piano ragtime, giving amateur pianists of the day a chance to learn and perform ragtime). Just the same, Kaufman wrote many fine piano rags, including “Come Across”; the rag’s highlight is its wonderful trio, in which the thumbline plays a countermelody.


Eric closed his set with another OCRS first: “Car-Barlick Acid Rag-Time,” a great Folk rag by Clarence Wiley. Wiley was a pharmacist from Oskaloosa, Iowa. He completed and copyrighted his only rag in 1901, publishing it two years later with an amusing cover that included his photo. By 1904 the rag was so popular that it was purchased by Giles Brothers, who sold it out of offices on both sides of the Mississippi River, in Quincy, Ill., and Hannibal, Mo. The rag’s popularity continued to climb, being sold again in 1907, this time to Remick. Each edition – 1903, 1904 and 1907 – has a new cover but the same music. Jasen and Tichenor have called “one of the most rollicking Folk rags ever written,” and Eric said he has tons of fun playing this rag.


Vincent Johnson opened his set with the 1929 novelty “Pianogram” by Ralph Rainger, best known for the pop song “Thanks for the Memory.” Its opening section and trio are jazzy, Impressionistic foxtrots, while the B theme is in stoptime. Vincent then featured two novelties by Lothar Perl, who was born in Germany exactly a century ago. Vincent said he fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s, arriving in Los Angeles, and that he wrote at least 15 novelties. From 1933, “The Goldfish” was an OCRS premiere, with a dreamy, pretty A theme, a still-pretty yet peppier dotted-note B section and a trio that combines features of A and B. The entire piece moves dreamily up and down major scales – much like a goldfish moving around in water. Vincent wound up his set with another 1933 Perl novelty he has frequently played at OCRS: “Hollywood Stars.” Vincent said Perl had recorded several 78s while in Germany, all of them exceedingly scarce today. Luckily, he noted, after arriving in Hollywood, Perl recorded a 78 of “Hollywood Stars,” with “Goldfish” on the flip side. “Hollywood” has a gorgeous, dreamy A theme, a second theme that mixes major and minor to dramatic effect, and a tranquil trio featuring beautiful harmonies.


Ron Ross gave us a couple of his comedic songs – “Good Thing Going” and “I’m Just Not Getting Over You,” the latter describing not a sweetheart from a broken romance, but an impossible-to-shake head cold. Ron ended his set with Joe Lamb’s 1916 masterpiece “Patricia Rag,” whose opening theme mirrors the structure of “Maple Leaf’s” A theme. The second theme skillfully uses sequences and minor harmonies, the trio has long, flowing treble lines and a break in the bass, and the closing theme features syncopations that cross the bar line and a rhythm frequently found in Joplin’s rags (eg. “Original Rags,” “The Entertainer,” “Gladiolus Rag,” “Pine Apple Rag” etc.). Bravo to Ron for tackling this difficult classic rag.


Shirley Case continued with more Lamb: This time, “American Beauty Rag” (1913), one of the greatest rags of all time. Shirley’s arrangement adds long treble runs in 16th notes and parallel motion to neat effect, plus a new trick: bringing the treble line below middle C. Next up, Hal Isbitz’s “La Mariposa” (“the butterfly”), a syncopated tango from 1984. The piece is laid out in rondo format (ABCBA), with a light, busy A strain, a B theme that uses a habañera bass and a slow, misterioso trio that offers drastic changes in tempo and mood. All three sections feature pretty melodies and harmonies. Shirley ended her set with “Eubie’s Classical Rag,” noting “I love playing it on this piano” (Steamers’ Yamaha grand). Before starting, Shirley demonstrated how the piano’s middle pedal allows the pianist to properly perform the trio, sustaining the section’s initial bass notes while the theme’s downward melody is executed with both hands. Penned after he had been rediscovered by the ragtime community, Eubie wrote the piece in 1972 when he was nearly 90 years old. It’s not only a great classic rag but is indeed classical in style and sound.


Bill Mitchell took to the piano and asked Jimmy Green to join him on banjo for his set. Bill and Jimmy opened with Wenrich’s great 1907 rag “The Smiler,” following it with a medley of Wenrich song hits, including “When You Wore a Tulip” and “On Moonlight Bay.” They closed their set with James Scott’s wonderful “Evergreen Rag” from 1915. Considered a lighter rag than most of Scott’s output, it features delicate melodies yet forceful rhythms. Jimmy’s banjo-playing added immeasurably to Bill’s pianistics.
Vincent took to the stage for his second set, introducing drummer and percussionist Durand Stewart in his first appearance at OCRS. They opened with “Maple Leaf Rag,” jazzed and embellished by Vincent, with Durand providing a variety of rhythms. Eubie Blake’s “Baltimore Todolo” offered more forceful work by Vincent. The guys closed with “Kitten on the Keys,” with the trio given a piano break in which to feature Durand’s drumming.


Eric offered three more pieces not previously played at OCRS, all three published in Chicago. He opened with “Blue Moon,” composed by Max Kortlander and Lee S. Roberts and published by Roberts in 1918. Eric noted that this was one of two “Blue Moons” from the ragtime era, the other being E.M. Cook’s from 1906. As befits its title, the rag has a bluesy feel to it. Next up was Eric’s instrumental version of the second-biggest song hit from 1910: Tell Taylor’s “Down by the Old Mill Stream.” The only 1910 song to outsell this one, Eric said, was Friedman and Whitson’s “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.” Eric closed his set with what is considered George L. Cobb’s best rag, “The Midnight Trot.” From 1916, its minor-key main theme (the A section) sets the tone for the piece, a maxixe that was performed by vaudeville dancer Maizie King. The rag’s highlight is its trio, which features a number of harmonically adventurous key changes.


Shirley encored with one of the greatest classic rags, Scott’s “Frog Legs,” and Luckey Roberts’ 1913 showpiece, “Pork and Beans.” Ron’s encores were two originals: “Digital Rag” and the more recent “Orange County Rag.” Written in 2007 to commemorate RagFest, “Orange County” has a tango-like opening theme, a minor-key second theme and a Lambesque trio.


Andrew Barrett opened his first set with Charlotte Blake’s wonderful “Wish-Bone Rag” from 1909, taking it at a pleasingly unforced tempo. Its opening them uses the three-over-four pattern to good effect, its second theme is soft and gentle but with hints of humor, and its trio is soft and genteel. Andrew then invited Durand to join him on Charley Straight’s 1916 hit “Hot Hands.” Andrew created several breaks to showcase Durand’s drumming and, on the piano, added an “echo” effect not found in the score. Andrew and Durand closed with “Lila,” a 1928 song hit by Maceo Pinkard, who is best known for “Sweet Georgia Brown.” Like all of Pinkard’s music, this is a boisterous, well-constructed piece. Andrew made sure to build breaks into his performance to highlight Durand’s fine percussion work.


Noting that the only Joplin heard this afternoon was “Maple Leaf,” and that Joplin reworked the opening theme of his greatest rag many times – in “The Sycamore,” “The Cascades,” “Leola,” “Gladiolus Rag,” “Sugar Cane” and even “Prelude to Act 2” of “Treemonisha” – Eric played “Gladiolus.” He then asked Jimmy Green to join him on “Pine Apple Rag.”


Jimmy remained on stage to accompany Bill on Charles Hunter’s masterpiece “’Possum and ’Taters, a Ragtime Feast,” a very lively early (1900) rag from Tennessee. Next up was the equally lively “Glad Rag” by composer J. Bodewalt Lampe. Lampe was born in Ribe, Denmark, so for this rag he used the pseudonym “Ribe Danmark.” The 1910 rag features a pronounced downward run in its main theme. Bill and Jimmy closed with the Tom Turpin masterpiece “St. Louis Rag,” written in 1903 to commemorate the upcoming St. Louis World’s Fair. On all three pieces in this set, Jimmy’s banjo-playing provided terrific accompaniment.


Vincent stared his encore set with Arthur Schutt’s “Rambling in Rhythm” (1927). Part of this piece are delicate, but its highlights are its intricate, minor-key B theme and an A theme that creates an Oriental effect through the use of fourths built into the treble’s octaves. Next up was one of Vincent’s latest novelties: “Sweet Pea,” written earlier this year in the style of Billy Mayerl. Soft and pretty, it’s in Mayerl’s best cocktail lounge style, with a wonderful B theme and a lovely trio.


Vincent asked Durand to join him in ending the set with two great novelties: Ted Shapiro’s “Putting on the Dog” (1923) and Arthur Schutt’s “Bluin’ the Black Keys” (1926). “Dog” has a wonderful trio and opens and closes with a lively and intricate A theme, punched up by Durand. The guys used the lively, kinetic and strongly rhythmic “Black Keys” to cap a wonderful afternoon of ragtime music.


Next up is RagFest 2010, with continuous live music at Steamers, Mo’s and Max Bloom’s Cafe Noir during the day and a variety-style Ragtime Revue show at Mo’s at 8 p.m. October 16. See you all then and there!


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