Paragon Ragtime Orchestra • Cake Walk In The Sky
Ed Berlin
September 30, 2024
Listening to the first track—Geoge L. Cobb’s Stop It! (1919)—I was thrilled by the orchestra’s precision and its ability to bring out unexpected details and
Listening to the first track—Geoge L. Cobb’s Stop It! (1919)—I was thrilled by the orchestra’s precision and its ability to bring out unexpected details and
This is an article I never expected to write. My interest in Scott Joplin was originally centered on his music; examination of his life came
Scott Joplin and Opera Known for his piano rags, Scott Joplin’s ambition to become an opera composer surprised many of his contemporaries. It still surprises
Through more than three decades of recordings, we’ve come to expect excellence from Rick Benjamin’s Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. Even with that history in mind, this
Glenn Jenks was a favorite at ragtime events, both as a pianist and for his compositions. Though he had a significant following in the ragtime
Marilyn Nonken is a classical pianist known for playing some of the most challenging music of the 20th and 21st centuries. That Scott Joplin’s music
Lara Downes is a classical pianist who, in addition to the traditional repertory, has been exploring unappreciated Black composers. While Scott Joplin can hardly be
Issues of Syncopated Times in the past year have had a number of marvelous articles about Max Morath. Though I’ve known him for more than
Scott Joplin had two brothers who were musicians—Robert B. and Will. Scott’s one-time student and then colleague Arthur Marshall wrote the following about Robert and
Though far beyond the publisher’s target age group of 4–8, I am thoroughly enchanted by this book about Scott Joplin. The drawings are playful, the
Gus Haenschen (1889–1980) was once a highly prominent figure in popular music with his name-recognition reinforced by regular newspaper advertisements and occasional articles. From 1919
Those fortunate enough to have attended any of the Bohém Ragtime Jazz Festivals, presented annually in Hungary, or viewed its videos on YouTube, know that
A few disclosures are in order. 1) Though the late Glenn Jenks (1947–2016) and I met only at ragtime festivals, we communicated occasionally by phone,
Ian Whitcomb was a fun person to be with. I believe it was in 1986 that we first met, at the Sedalia Scott Joplin festival.
The CD notes tell us that Dick Hyman made partial arrangements of these pieces, setting up a platform for improvisation. When clarinetist Ken Peplowski arrived
On mentioning Johnny Guarnieri (1917-1985) to a doctoral student who was writing a dissertation on a jazz topic, I was only moderately surprised when the
This extended performance goes off in unimagined, jaw-dropping directions as McDermott creates a new masterpiece from Joplin’s greatest classic.
April 5, 1917, Scott Joplin was buried at St. Michael’s Cemetery, East Elmhurst, NY. A 16-year-old girl already occupied the grave, and a 25-year-old man
