COMPACT DISC REVIEW

By

Jack Rummel

A Circle of Friends

The Friends of Scott Joplin (Various Artists)

FOSJ-001

Plantation Echoes / Felicity Rag / Beedle Um Bo / Peek-A-Boo Rag / Ragtime Nightingale / Grace and Beauty / Calliope Rag / Basin Street Irregulars / The Lion Tamer Rag / Easy Winners / Paragon Rag / Car-Barlick Acid / Patricia Rag / Pastime Rag #4 / Scott Joplin’s New Rag / Georgia Grind / Reflection Rag / Grandpa’s Spells.

            Issued by the Friends of Scott Joplin, a non-profit organization founded to further interest in ragtime and in the Scott Joplin House (a Missouri Historical Site), this CD features nine different Missouri performers, including the late Jan Hamilton Douglas, who passed away shortly after his contributions were recorded.  It also utilizes several different pianos, thus creating a few mildly disconcerting moments, and a mixture of professional and amateur pianists.

            The disc contains rags played by artists who have not recorded these pieces anywhere else.  The selections range from quite well known to incredibly obscure and the results are generally good.  The liner notes by Trebor Tichenor give excellent descriptions of the rags; no information is included about any of the players.

            Bob Ault treats us to a real rarity with Plantation Echoes, but the pace that he sets for it and for Felicity Rag almost exceeds his talents.  Douglas plays Beedle Um Bo with wonderfully theatrical dynamics which also spill over into his rendition of Scott Joplin’s New Rag.  Barry Morgan’s performances (Peek-A-Boo Rag and Basin Street Irregulars – a Morgan original) are solid but his piano seems to have a permanently engaged damper pedal, creating a cascade of overtones that is somewhat distracting.

            Patsy Madinger breathes much life into Grace and Beauty and Patricia Rag, contrasting with Jim Andris’ treatment of Ragtime Nightingale and Paragon Rag, which is heartfelt but ponderous.  Jean Milder bounces merrily through Easy Winners but drags Georgia Grind into a six minute opus that threatens to bore.  Dave Majchrzak has chosen two pieces (Lion Tamer Rag and Grandpa’s Spells) that respond well to the heavy staccato performance that they are given.

            Tichenor earns his folk-rooted stripes with great renditions of Calliope Rag and Car-Barlick Acid, the former ranking as one of the best interpretations of that James Scott rag I have ever heard.  Rich Egan follows by stomping his way through Pastime Rag #4 and then giving us a truly introspective Reflection Rag.

            All in all, this is a good disc and I can think of three reasons why you should buy it:  it contains many solid performances interspersed with some real gems, it will introduce you to some players that you may not have heard before (including the only commercially available recordings of Jan Douglas), and it will help to raise money for a very worthy cause.

            Available for $17.00 postpaid from The Friends of Scott Joplin, 1217 St. Croix Court, Kirkwood, MO 63122-2326, or go to http://stlouis.missouri.org/fsjoplin/ if you want to visit their website.