Rick Benjamin’s Paragon Ragtime Orchestra has been together for over 37 years, with Deuces Wild being their 20th recording. Benjamin’s discovery of thousands of arrangements written for Arthur Pryor’s early 20th century band resulted in him founding his own group and setting the standard for ragtime orchestras. His 12-piece unit consists of two cornets, trombone, clarinet, flute-piccolo, piano, bass, chimes & mallets, and a string quartet.
Unlike with most of their recordings, Deuces Wild does not have a specific theme. The orchestra performs ragtime, hot dance music, waltzes, early orchestrated blues, some novelties, and ragged adaptations of classical themes. A few of the numbers are fairly well known, including “Beale Street,” “Kitten On The Keys” (on which Benjamin is featured on piano) and a sweet version of “Look For The Silver Lining.” However it is fair to say that most of the other tunes, such as “Bone-Head Blues,” “The Ragtime Bassplayer,” “Step With Pep,” “Slim Trombone,” and “The Victor Talking Machine March,” have not been performed very often during the past century.
A bonus is an eight-minute performance of a medley from George Gershwin’s score for his very first show, “La-La Lucille.” All of those six songs have been completely forgotten since 1919, giving one an opportunity to hear some “new” Gershwin.
Each of the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra’s recordings offers musical treasures. Deuces Wild is no exception.
Paragon Ragtime Orchestra • Deuces Wild
RR 6006
www.paragonragtime.com
