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!