Black Swan Classic Jazz Band • Ragtime Revelry

When “ragtime” is mentioned, many people—perhaps most—think immediately of piano players. In the early 1900s, ragtime was the domain of piano players. Ragtime was “revived,” one might say, in 1974 when the movie The Sting was released with its compelling background music: the ragtime piece “The Entertainer.” Thereafter—and even today—whenever “The Entertainer” was and is played, most often it is identified as “The Sting.” Today there are many players like Butch Thompson and Terry Waldo who include ragtime in their repertoires, as well as some who devote themselves entirely to ragtime. The music was first promulgated by piano players—mainly men such as Scott Joplin and Tony Jackson, but also women such as May Aufderheide—who both composed and played it. However, it was not limited to solo pianists; musical groups, such as James Reese Europe’s 369th Regiment army band and other musical aggregations like W. C. Handy’s included it in their repertoire. These arrangements have often been given a second life by being adopted by modern day ragtime ensembles, such as the Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra, the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, or the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. Ragtime has also been picked up by traditional jazz bands, many of them including one or two ragtime numbers in their repertoires. Few, however, present a whole ragtime set or an en