Blowing Off The Dust

I believe I have made more valuable and lasting friendships in the past year of so-called social isolation, than I have made in the past

As I begin writing this column for February, we are only a week into the new year. However, I have already had what will be

It doesn’t seem like five full years since the first issue of The Syncopated Times began appearing in our mailboxes. Since the February 2016 issue,

Recently, I have been considering the relationship between ragtime and the railroads more intently than ever. First, because Marcello Piras wrote to inquire about railroad

When I get a message from Ed Berlin, it gets my immediate attention. Last month I received a most fascinating document Ed was passing along,

Last month I began my comment on the confusing heritage of Sedalia’s Maple Leaf Club (MLC). Was it the benign men’s social club of the

“There has to be a balance between literally white-washing or ignoring history and presenting it in actual context…it appear(s) no matter what approach is taken,

Several years ago, I met a remarkable young man at the Sedalia Ragtime Festival named Brandon Byrne. Later, I discovered an on-line newsletter he produces

Like many reading this, I suspect you are nearly overwhelmed by the negativism accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a pessimistic time and for many

One of the great ragtime adventure stories I ever heard was of Peter Lundberg’s tour of America in 1963, vising and interviewing ragtime greats across

I grew up in the 1940’s reading science fiction stories of time travel and of mysterious flying carpets. Today as I sit here in still

As I was contemplating a column for this month, I came across a Facebook posting that inspired this article. It was a recent photo in

The docents at the KATY Depot Visitors Center in Sedalia regularly receive inquiries about the city and its ragtime heritage. Since the folks there are

This is supposed to be a column for the new year, but I find myself beginning to write on Thanksgiving Day, thinking of all the

I knew Treemonisha. Well, I should have written “a Treemonisha.” I certainly knew her as surely as if the fictional heroine of Scott Joplin’s opera

My column requires a disclaimer this month because frankly, it amounts to little more than a grandfather bragging obnoxiously about his grandchildren. That written, I’ve

In my April 2018 column, I wrote of the accomplishments of the good people of Texarkana and the work they are doing to preserve their

Making new friends and learning more about older acquaintances is one of the many rewards of being part of the on-line ragtime community. I am

They All Played Ragtime (Alfred A. Knopf, Ltd., 1950) by Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis is a wonderful story of our ragtime heritage. There have

Each year as a Scott Joplin anniversary rolls around, I get to pondering the composer’s tragic life and the lack of acclaim he received while

Imagine the privilege of sitting a few rows behind Eubie Blake on the night of January 28, 1972, and watching his whole body move to

I am often asked about my background in music, what instruments I play, and when I first became interested. My flippant response is that I

Just when I was becoming accustomed to getting my ragtime music solely from the Internet and recordings, I had a pleasant surprise. Virginia Tichenor emailed