Compact Disc Review

By

Jack Rummel

Sunshine From the Fingers

Adam Swanson, piano

Rivermont Records BSW-2214

Maceo Pinkard Medley / Calico Rag / Ragging the Scale / Amoureuse / Canadian Capers / The Entertainer’s Rag / Sunshine From the Fingers / Buffoon / Honeysuckle Rose / Putting on the Dog / Nothin’ / Russian Lullaby / Tiger Rag / The Chevy Chase / Alabamy Bound / Deep Henderson / Dust on the Moon / Medley: On the Atcheson, Topeka, and the Santa Fe + Chattanooga Choo Choo / Roll On, Mississippi, Roll On.

      An idea:  On the way to creating a repertoire for the Old Time Piano Playing Contest in Peoria , IL , why not turn the results into a CD?  Needed: Fast pieces with lots of show-stopping pyrotechnics (got lots, no problem!).  Season the mix with a slow waltz* (Amoureuse), an extremely rare composition (Sunshine From the Fingers), and a tango (Dust on the Moon), and you have a winning plan for Adam Swanson, who went on to capture the title and become a three-time champion at age 18 – and issue this fine disc as a by-product!  (*lest you think he is incapable of playing anything slowly!)

      Swanson doesn’t indicate which pieces were used in the contest, but any one of them could qualify.  Favorites might include Nat Johnson’s Calico Rag, which is fast and furious but with good use of dynamics, or the interestingly improvised Chevy Chase by Eubie Blake.  However, the less dazzling numbers also took center stage.  The waltz, Amoureuse by Rudolphe Berger is performed lightly and romantically.  Sunshine From the Fingers is a rare piece and a rare treat and Buffoon, while not as rare, is still a treat; both are from the pen of Zez Confrey.  And don’t overlook the fine tango, Dust on the Moon, a collaboration by Ernesto Lecuona and Stanley Adams.

      The sound is excellent and Swanson uses good dynamics throughout on his chosen instrument, a nine-foot concert grand.  The package features great graphics and extensive liner notes.  As he emerges out from under the “child prodigy” tent into the larger fraternity known simply as “prodigies,” the competition will be greater.  But, if anything, Adam Swanson has become more formidable with each new release and should have no trouble remaining as a favorite of those who prefer their ragtime to be fast and exciting.

      Available for $16.00 plus shipping from <www.rivermontrecords.com>.