sacramento ragtime society newsletternew orleans blues, 1925, ferdinand "jelly roll"...

Sacramento Ragtime Society Newsletter

NEXT MEETING

The December SRS meeting

will be held on

December 29, 2013 in

J.B.s Lounge at the

Clarion Hotel

(formerly Red Lion

Sacramento Inn)

1401 Arden Way,

Sacramento

From 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

NO NOVEMBER MEETING! See you at the

West Coast Festival

Fourth Annual Wine Country Ragtime Festival….......……...1 Oct. 27, 2013 SRS session.......2 West Coast Ragtime Festival...3 New RJB CD coming soon..…4 Crown Syncopators Concerts..4 S.F. International Boogie Woogie Festival 2013…….…4 CD Review by Jack Rummel..5 Music Schedules……….….....6 Ragtime Calendar………...….7

IN THIS ISSUE

Marilyn Norton, Editor November 2013

www.SacramentoRagtime.com

[email protected]

530.758.6697

Photo courtesy of John Partridge

T his year was a “break-out” year for the Wine Country

Ragtime Festival. For the first time, the festival moved from one day to two and included events in Glen Ellen and Sonoma as well as Napa.

This year’s headliners were John Partridge, Larisa Migachyov, John Remmers and the Ragtime Skedaddlers. Rounding out the list of performers were Tom Brier

and the Saloon Sweeties, Brooks Christensen, a Ragtime Choir and singers Ronnie Riddell and Susan DeMatei. The Festival started with a noon concert on Saturday October 19th at Jack London State Park where performers got to play on Charmian London’s grand piano. This was followed by continuous ragtime performances at five different ven-ues around Sonoma and an eve-ning “Ragtime Variety Show” which featured all the performers plus a Silent Movie and a Sing-Along. Sunday October 20th started off with two Ragtime/Gospel Church services in Napa and then another Ragtime Variety Show at 4 in the afternoon. Performers and audiences all had a great time and we have high hopes that next year’s event will be even better. Anyone interested in participating should contact Music Director John Partridge – [email protected].

Fourth Annual Wine Country Ragtime Festival

By John Partridge

Tom Brier and the Saloon Sweeties Photo courtesy of John Partridge

Sacramento Ragtime Society November 2013

by Nick Arteaga

October 27, 2013 SRS Session

T he windy weather did little to keep the crowds away from the October SRS meeting and atten-

dance was up from a slight lull during the summer months. Attendees were treated to a variety of pi-ano solos, piano duets, and even a gutbucket and guitar duet or two. Several regular performers, who had not been present for several months returned for the October meeting. Bub and Petra Sullivan, who had spent a por-tion the summer traveling around Italy, performed a couple of gems including "Mi Appari Tutti Amor" (from Flowto's Opera Martha) and the popu-lar Sicilian tune "Torna a Surriento." They also in-cluded a little known topical tune about a bridge near Yosemite Falls. Chris and Jack Bradshaw played a delightful duet set of rare piano rags by female composers from small towns. In the hands of the Bradshaws "rare" does not mean lacking in quality and they know a good rag when they hear one. Jonathan Meredith played a set of piano rags on the guitar in his own inimitable style and was later joined by Allen Rogers on the gutbucket bass for a few tunes made popular by Fats Waller. A few of the regular performing attendees were occupied with other important duties (such as re-cording an album) therefore the meeting contained many solo piano numbers. John T. Carney did a set of Jelly Roll tunes, Nick Arteaga played a rare Mexican danzon, Jack Bradshaw and Elliot Adams both played several very rare rags as piano solos. Elliot closed the meeting with some rare and very difficult novelty tunes including one of his own. John T. Carney, Piano New Orleans Blues, 1925, Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton Hyena Stomp, 1929, Jelly Roll Morton Improvisation, John T. Carney Jack and Chris Bradshaw, Piano duet Ripples, 1912, Camilia Theile Smiling Susan, 1906, Carlotta Williamson Lemons and Limes- A Sour Rag, 1909, Cora Salisbury Nick Arteaga, Piano Flores De Romana (Flowers of Rome), 1893, Juventino Rosas Carson City 2-Step, 2008, Nicolas Arteaga Triangle Jazz Blues, 1917, Irwin P. Leclere

Jonathan Meredith, Guitar Temptation Rag, 1909, Henry Lodge Kismet Rag, 1913 Scott Joplin & Scott Haydn When I’m 64, 1967, John Lennon & Paul McCartney Jack Bradshaw, Piano Such is Life, 1915, Charles “Doc” Cook Puerto Rico: Rag Intermezzo, 1910, Ford Dabney Notoriety Rag, 1913, Kathryn L. Widmer Yellow Rose Rag, 1976, Terry Waldo Elliot Adams, Piano The Pathetic Rag, 1913, Axel Christianson, Movie Rag, 1913, Johann Sebastien Zamecnik That Enticing 2-step, 1915, Blanch M. Tice Don’t Jazz me Rag (I’m Music), 1921, James Scott Cleve Baker, Piano Jack Frost Two-Step, 1906, Archie W. Scheu Champagne Rag, 1910, Joseph Lamb Soft-Shoe Shuffle, Date Unknown, Peter Clute Bub Sullivan, Mandolin & Vocals, Petra Sullivan, Piano Mi Appari Tutti Amor, 1847, Friedrich Von Flowto Bridge by Yosemite Falls, 1945, Claire Porter & Harry McMillen Torna a Surriento, 1905, Ernesto De Curtis Billie Menz, Piano This Land is Your Land, 1945, Woodie Guthrie Rain, 1927, Eugene Ford How High the Moon, 1940, Nancy Hamilton & Morgan Lewis What a Wonderful World, 1967, Bob Theile & George David Weiss Love Makes the World Go Round, 1961, Bob Merrill At Sundown, 1927, Walter Donaldson Jonathan Meredith, Guitar & Allen Rogers, Gutbucket The Teddy Bear's Picnic, 1907, John Walter Bratton, Lyrics 1932 Jimmy Kennedy You're Not the Only Oyster, 1934, Harold Arlen & Johnny Burke A Louisiana Fairytale, 1935, Haven Gillespie What's the Reason (I'm Not Pleasin’ You), 1935, Jimmy Greer, Coe H. Poe & Pinky Tomlin Elliot Adams, Piano Originola, 1934, Bill Wirges Spanking the Monkey, 1999, Elliot Adams


DON’T MISS IT!!


O n October 26th and 27th the Raspberry Jam Band recorded 19 pieces to use in their

second CD Raspberries in the Brier Patch. They were fortunate that John Plut, recording engineer, was willing to drag all his equipment to Auburn and set up a recording studio in Dick Baker’s home where the RJB rehearses. The new RJB recording will be all contempo-rary compositions, primarily those by their pianist, Tom Brier; but also including a composi-tion by John Massey, RJB guitarist. Many of these compositions will be performed in the up-coming West Coast Ragtime Festival in a special set called “What’s New, Doc?” It is expected that this CD will be available by next summer.

NEW RJB CD coming soon

Check Your Address Label! On page 8, above your label, you will always find your membership expiration date. If your label reads "EXPIRED" your membership has lapsed. To renew please send a check payable to "Sacramento Ragtime Society" in the amount of $16 to Merv Graham, PO Box 2286, Grass Valley CA 95945-2286.If you are "on-line" and have a PayPal account, you may renew by visiting the SRS Web site (www.sacramentoragtime.com) and using the table of contents on the left edge, navigate to the "Newsletter-Subscriptions" page and there near the bottom of the page you can renew with PayPal.


CD Reviews

J ohn Reed-Torres recently released his first CD, Spring Street Rags, a description of

which was featured in the June 2013 SRS newsletter. Jack Rummel, on www.ragtimers.org has posted a review of John’s CD. With Jack’s permission, this review is re-printed below:

COMPACT DISC REVIEW by

Jack Rummel Spring Street Rags John Reed-Torres, piano (No label, no number) Spring Street Rag / Angels Flight / The Belle of Los Angeles / Dixie Dimples / Troubadour Rag / Ophelia Rag / Little Jacks (sic) / The Pippin / The Peach / Maple Leaf Rag / Crush Collision March / Fig Leaf Rag / Sugar Cane Rag / Gladiolus Rag / The Favorite. Here is a gem of a recording hiding in a primitive package. John Reed-Torres is part of the recent crop of "under age 30" pianists that have been making names for themselves at festivals and concerts. But where most of these talented youngsters have concentrated on stride piano, Reed-Torres has chosen to explore the classic ragtime worlds of Scott Joplin, Arthur Marshall, James Scott and the like. Wishing to respond to his new-found fans who inquire about CDs, he has released a limited run of this self-produced recording. The disc opens with three Reed-Torres originals. Spring Street Rag is up-tempo and briefly sounds reminiscent of someone else's rag before veering off into new territory, including a tango-like trio. Angel Flight is slower and more introspective; The Belle of Los Angeles is reminiscent of James Scott in its opening statement, but quickly becomes its own piece. It. too, boasts a Latin-tinged trio. In all, these rags show a concerted effort to establish a new ragtime voice without totally abandoning the sound of the early masters. As a nod to his African-American heritage, Reed-Torres has devoted the rest of the recording to three acknowledged African-American ragtime giants of the early 20th Century, Scott, Marshall and Joplin. To his

credit, with the exception of the obligatory Maple Leaf Rag he has chosen compositions that are not often recorded. The three Scott selections - Dixie Dimples, Troubadour Rag and Ophelia Rag - are played very appropriately: Dixie Dimples in dotted rhythm, Trou-badour Rag slowly and majestically, and Ophelia Rag sprightly and happily. When he turns to Marshall, we are treated to the almost unknown Little Jack's Rag, a posthumously published work that deserves much more exposure. Both The Pippin and The Peach are played with much respect. On Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag, Reed-Torres improvises on the score, a logical choice given the over-familiarity of the piece. He also adds some embellishments to Crush Collision March which fill out some of the leaner sections (the "collision," however, is infused with much drama). Fig Leaf Rag and Gladiolus Rag are stately, Sugar Cane Rag skips joyously along and The Favorite gets "ragged up" which creates a powerful closing statement. Considering that this is a self-produced album, the sound is amazingly good. The cover graphics are hand-drawn and adequate, but could use a bit more "punch." There are no liner notes. The music, however, is worthy of our attention. Yes, there is the rare wrong note, but John Reed-Torres plays classic ragtime with conviction and feeling. This is a strong debut from a young man who has a great future. Available for $10.00 plus shipping from John Reed-Torres, 4900 South Figueroa St. #407, Los Angeles, CA 90037.


Pier 23 and Straw Hat Pizza Schedules

Pier 23 Tuesdays 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Embarcadero (at Filbert) San Francisco

Nov. 13* Frederick Hodges Nov. 19 Marty Eggers Nov. 26 CLOSED Dec. 3 Crown Syncopators Dec. 10 Frederick Hodges Dec. 17 Virginia Tichenor Dec. 24 CLOSED Dec. 31 Marty Eggers *please note date change

Straw Hat Pizza Wednesdays 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.

2929 Mather Field Road Rancho Cordova

Nov. 13 Eddie Burr & his Western Swingers Nov. 20 Dr. Bach & the Jazz Prac. Nov. 27 The Crescent Katz Dec. 4 Jay Paulus’ Soc. Band Dec. 11 Cell Block 7 Dec. 18 Bob Ringwald Trio Dec. 25 NO MUSIC

Subscription to SRS Newsletter

I f you would like to receive the monthly newsletter, the subscription rate is $16 per

year. Payments should be made payable to Sacramento Ragtime Society. Contact: Merv Graham, P.O. Box 2286, Grass Valley, CA 95945. For more info call 530.273.0487 or e-mail: [email protected].

The Sacramento Ragtime Society Newsletter now has online delivery available for those desiring it. If you opt for online delivery, an e-mail message will be sent when the next issue is available for viewing or downloading from the SRS website.

If you wish to take advantage of online delivery, send your e-mail address to [email protected]

Articles for SRS Newsletter

P lease submit articles for publication, CD reviews, concert reviews, information on

upcoming events, or interesting stories, poems or other ragtime tidbits (as WORD or Wordperfect documents) to [email protected] THANKS!!

Tom Brier [email protected]

Nov. 22-24 West Coast Ragtime Festival

Now available-Tom’s latest CD Con-


Ragtime Calendar Sacramento Ragtime Society events are starred (*) and up to date information can always be obtained from the

society’s web site at www.SacramentoRagtime.com. Please let us know as soon as possible about upcoming ragtime or ragtime related events so we can list them.

SPECIAL EVENTS NOVEMBER 10 Silvan Zingg in Concert—at the home of John Ulrich. November 10, 2 p.m., $25 per person. For more information contact John Ulrich at 510.223.9587 or email [email protected] 16 Crown Syncopators in Concert—Reutlinger Mansion in San Francisco. 2 p.m. $25 per person. For more information call or e-mail Bob Gonzalez 415.924.6834 [email protected] 17 Crown Syncopators in Concert—Reutlinger Mansion in San Francisco. 2 p.m. $25 per person. For more information call or e-mail Bob Gonzalez 415.924.6834 [email protected] 17 San Francisco International Boogie Woogie Festival—Miner Auditorium—San Francisco Jazz Center, 201 Franklin Street, San Francisco, 4 p.m. For more info sfboogiewoogiefestival.com 22-24 West Coast Ragtime Festival—Clarion Hotel, 1401 Arden Way, Sacramento. See West Coast Ragtime Festival web site for details www.westcoastragtime.com Nov.27-Dec.1 San Diego Jazz Festival—Town & Country Hotel, 500 Hotel Circle North, San Diego. For more information call 619.297.5277 DECEMBER 29* Sacramento Ragtime Society Session—Clarion Hotel, 1401 Arden Way, Sacramento, 1:00—4:00 p.m.

REGULAR EVENTS

1st & 3rd Sunday Sacramento Banjo Band, Straw Hat Pizza, 2929 Mather Field Rd, Rancho Cordova, 2:00-4:00 pm. 1st Sunday Pacific Coast Ragtime Orchestra, Casa de Flores, 737 Walnut St., San Carlos, 4:00-6:00pm, $10 donation at door, Info: 650.355.1731 or 650.593.2284, [Feb, Apr, Oct, Dec only]. Price includes light refreshments. 1st Sunday Portland Ragtime Society, Elevated Coffee, 5261 Northeast M. L. King Blvd., Portland, OR, 3:00-6:00 pm. 1st Sunday Friends of Scott Joplin-Ragtime Rendezvous, The Pub Above at Dressel’s, 419 N Euclid St., St. Louis, MO, 5:30—8:30 pm. 1st Sunday Classic Ragtime Society of Indiana, [Even-numbered months only] Info: Josi Beeler 317.359.6452, [email protected] or Irene Weinberg 317.578.7883 or [email protected]. Last Sunday Rose Leaf Ragtime Club, Wang’s Place, 120 East Lemon Ave , Monrovia, 1:00-4:30 pm. Info: 626.359.8648 or 818.766.2384. or email [email protected] http://roseleafclub.com Tuesday Ragtime & Vintage Piano Music, Pier 23, San Francisco, 5:00-8:00 pm (See separate listing). Tuesday Victorian Dancers, Lake Merritt Dance Center Lounge-Oakland Veterans Bldg., 200 Grand Ave., Oakland, 7:00 pm. Beginning & Intermediate classes, $8. Info: www.vintagewaltz.com. Tuesday Happy Time Banjos—Harry’s Hofbrau, 1909 El Camino, 1 block N. of Woodside Rd., Redwood City, 7:00 p.m. Tuesday East Bay Banjo Club, Luigi’s Deli & Market in Martinez at 537 Main Street & Castro. 7:00-9:00 p.m. 2nd Wednesday Marty Eggers & Virginia Tichenor-Hot Ragtime & Classic Jazz Piano, The Belrose Theater, 1415 5th Ave., San Rafael, 5:30-8:00 pm, Info: 415.454.6422 or 510.655.6728, no cover charge. Wine bar, beer & light food. Wednesday Peninsula Banjo Band, Harry’s Hofbrau, 390 Saratoga Ave, San Jose, 7:00 pm, Info: 408.993.2263. Wednesday Craig Ventresco & Meredith Axelrod, Café Divine, 1600 Stockton St. (across from Washington Square), San Francisco, 7:30-9:30 pm, Info: 415.986.3414. Wednesday East Bay Banjo Band—no longer holds regular performances. See eastbaybanjo.org for information Wednesday Ragtime & Vintage Music, Straw Hat Pizza, 2929 Mather Field Road, Rancho Cordova, 6:30-9:00 pm.

Sacramento Ragtime Society


NEXT SESSION: December 29, 2013, 1—4 pm J.B.’s Lounge, Clarion Hotel, 1401 Arden Way, Sacramento NO NOVEMBER MEETING

c/o Merv Graham

P.O. Box 2286

Grass Valley, CA 95945-2286

REGULAR EVENTS Continued

Thursday Oakland Banjo Band, Porky’s Pizza Palace, 1221 Manor Blvd. (corner of Farnsworth) San Leandro, 7:30-9:30 pm Info: 510.357.4323 4th Friday Vintage Dance & Waltz Lessons, Finnish Hall, 1970 Chestnut, Berkeley, Lesson 8:00 p., Dance 9:00 pm to midnight, $6 for dance; $8 for lesson, Info: 530.759.9278 or vintagewaltz.com Friday Friday Night Waltz, 1st United Methodist Church, 625 Hamilton St. (& Cowper), Palo Alto, Lessons: 7:00- 9:00pm, Dancing 9:00pm-12 am, Info: 650.326.6265, web site to confirm time and location: www.fridaynightwaltz.com Friday Keith Taylor, Mad Matilda’s, 1917 Main St., Baker City, OR, Info: 541.519.4072 1st Saturday San Francisco Banjo Band, Molloy’s, 1655 Mission Road, Colma,7 pm, Info: 650.692.7878 2nd Saturday The Valley Ragtime Stomp, Henri’s Restaurant, 21601 Sherman Way, Canoga Park, 1:00-4:00 pm, Info: 818.766.2384 or www.valleyragtimestomp.blogspot.com 2nd Saturday East Bay Waltz, Finnish Hall 1970 Chestnut, Berkeley. Info: eastbaywaltz.com 3rd Saturday Cascade Ragtime Society-Ragtime Jam, Noah’s Ark, Winston, OR, Info: 541.784.1261 [Even numbered months only] 3rd Saturday Mother Lode Ragtime Society, Sutter Creek Ice Cream Emporium, 51 Main St. (Hwy49), Sutter Creek, 7:00-9:30pm, Info: 209.405.1563 [email protected] . Odd numbered months only-please check website for up-to-date Information at www.suttercreekragtime.com.

RADIO Sundays Syncopation Station, KDHX 88.1 FM, St. Louis, Missouri, 4:00-5:30pm Host: Vann Ford, www.kdlhx.org Thursdays Ragtime America, KGNU, 88.5 FM, Boulder, Colorado, 8:00-9:00 pm, Host: Jack Rummel, www.kgnu.org Continuous Elite Syncopations Radio, All Ragtime 24 hours a day, www.ragtimeradio.org Continuous Rocky Mountain Ragtime, Ragtime 24 hours a day, www.live365.com/stations/rmragtime

sacramento ragtime society newsletternew orleans blues, 1925, ferdinand "jelly roll"...

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