Help Save Ragtime’s History
Larry Melton
December 30, 2024
I was recently contacted by a gentleman in New York who has had to curtail playing the piano due to the challenges of aging and
I was recently contacted by a gentleman in New York who has had to curtail playing the piano due to the challenges of aging and
We got old. Fifty years added to our twenties, thirties, and forties in 1974 equals old for those who have managed to survive. And. for
My grandmother used to say she couldn’t see because she had Cadillacs in front of her eyes. Well, it must be genetic because I’ve gone
This month I conclude my reflections on the first Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia in July of 1974. Hopefully someone will write about the
By the age of 10, Thomas Waller was playing piano and organ proficiently and beginning to compose in syncopation. In fact, by the end of
As I blow the dust off of the fifty-year-old files of Joplin Ragtime Festival documents, it isn’t just the dust causing my eyes to tear.
Traditional jazz and ragtime are back in St. Louis these days and as vibrant and joyful as in the days when the Goldenrod Showboat graced
There was a knock at the door and when I answered the fellow introduced himself as David Reffkin (not to be confused with Joshua Rifkin
James P. Johnson is another gifted performer/composer whose music bridged the span between ragtime and jazz and he was an early innovator of Harlem stride.
News from Galen Wilkes that Dennis Pash was rushed to the hospital in December brought back a flash of memories and of course great concern
After the original Classic Ragtime composers those who improvised on their syncopation came next, and Jelly Roll Morton in New Orleans was one of the
It never ceases to amaze me the details I can remember from the first Sedalia ragtime festival 50 years ago. Yet, I can’t for the
Not all of the original classic ragtime composers were men. Among the talented women, May Aufderheide has likely been the most popular. May wrote seven
Dr. Rebecca Imhauser has just published her third book on Downtown Sedalia, Missouri, titled All Around Downtown: Volume 2. This publication includes the West side
As the year speeds to an end and we focus on holiday gaiety, I am reminded of a Christmas day anniversary that deserves acknowledgment. The
Recently while working on the history of the 1974 Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival, I was distracted by an article an old friend had written, and
Recorded ragtime music is fortunate to have had several fine historians (see References). Several of these diligent men and women have given us fine discographies
It has been great fun to recall old memories of the first 1974 Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia. This month I remember two gentlemen
Since early Classic ragtime seemed to evolve from the cakewalk, dance, and march music around 1900 it was natural for it to become an instrumental
This month I continue to write about the premier 1974 Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri. Last month I featured Flint Long, piano contest
As I was blowing the dust off some unsorted clippings recently, I found a clipping on the contest held at the first Scott Joplin Ragtime
Eubie Blake (born James Hubert Blake in Baltimore) learned to play the piano as a child of four or five. He became a living link
Tom Brier received the 2023 Ragtime Outstanding Achievement Award from the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation. He is an extremely popular California pianist, composer, collector,
Richard Berry is a fine musician and has performed at many ragtime events since the 1980s. In addition to his musical talent however, Rich has
