The title, Tom McDermott Meets Scott Joplin, might be a misnomer. He is not “meeting” Scott Joplin for the first time; Joplin’s music was an important interest and influence early in McDermott’s career, long before he put ragtime aside to spread his focus on a myriad of other styles. That makes this CD more a revisit than a “meeting.”
It’s a given that everything McDermott plays is performed well and, frequently, with unusual quirks. The issue—the major issue—is to examine what he does with each selection, his approach to the music. If there is one thing that consistently characterizes McDermott’s playing and composing, it is his stylistic flexibility. He is the definitive eclectic who appreciates and absorbs so many styles that he could not remain faithful to only one or two. On this CD, McDermott’s stylistic decisions range from a precise reading of Gladiolus Rag to a highly transformed Maple Leaf Rag, from straight ragtime, to jazz, blues, and Brazilian choros. Rhythmically, he exceeds ragtime’s classic syncopations. McDermott paints with a rich palette.
In addition to the exact reading of Joplin’s score in Gladiolus Rag, he performs five rags with a close reading, adding only slight ornamentation, passing notes, or minor rhythmic displacements: this group includes Rose Leaf Rag, Fig Leaf Rag, Euphonic Sounds, Sunflower Slow Drag, Easy Winners, and Somet
