COMPACT DISC REVIEW

By

Jack Rummel

Missouri Romp

Richard Egan, piano

PianoMania Records (No number)

Jimmy in the Swamp / The Last Trip Down From Hannibal / Days Beyond Recall / Hard Times (Come Again No More) / Heliotrope Bouquet / Ham And! / Old Bill Jones / Southern Rag Medley No. 2-Strains From Flat Branch / Lily Queen / Barbershop Rag / Lulu White / Texas Rag / Ethiopia Rag / The Shovel Fish / Sunflower Babe / Lady With the Red Dress / John Jackson’s Social Club-Ragtime Waltzes / Cotton Bolls / Porcupine Rag / Missouri Romp / Hard Times Blues.

            Folk ragtime lovers, rejoice!  Missourian Richard Egan lives up to his chosen title as he leads us on a romp through the folk landscape of his beloved Midwest .  From the eccentric (Brun Campbell: Barbershop Rag, Lulu White) to the venerated (Scott Joplin & Louis Chauvin: Heliotrope Bouquet), from the familiar (Joseph Lamb: Ethiopia Rag) to the unknown (Fred Heltmann: Sunflower Babe; Robert J. O’Brien: Lady in the Red Dress), from the ancestral (Steven Foster: Hard Times) to the current (Trebor Tichenor: Last Trip Down From Hannibal, Day Beyond Recall), Egan delivers a satisfying musical portrait of the Land of Ragtime.

            Opening with a fast-paced fiddle tune (Jimmy in the Swamp), he keeps apace with Tichenor’s rags before dropping the tempo for an introspective Hard Times.  This well-chosen use of variation keeps going, helping to maintain a heightened level of interest throughout the CD.  Egan’s playing has continued to mature and he is certainly at the top of his form here.  Confidence reigns as he peels off one toe-tapper after another, always exploring the full dynamic range of the piano – a high quality instrument, happily.  All repeat sections are honored, often with innovative twists of notation or syncopation.

            I was especially captivated by Egan’s mastery of the folk rag idiom, and his interpretations of Campbell, Tichenor and Charles Hunter (Cotton Bolls) are as good as I’ve heard.  Arthur Marshall is favored with three selections on this disc (Ham And!, Lily Queen , Missouri Romp) and they all fit comfortably within the folk perimeter under Egan’s talented fingers.  While I was mildly disappointed in Heliotrope Bouquet (and I’m not sure I can explain my disappointment), there are no losers on this album.  Bolstering the overall package are two great landscape photographs and some thoughtful prose about the land and the music, all of which ties the concept together.

            Missouri is often referred to as the cradle of ragtime, and Richard Egan has become one of its most eloquent ambassadors.  This is a recording that will stay in my CD player for a long time.  Recommended.

            Available for $17.00 postpaid from Richard Egan, 564 Woodlyn Crossing, Manchester , MO 63021 or at www.jazzbymail.com .