Will Perkins, 23 at the time of recording Snowy Morning Blues, is a talented ragtime and stride pianist from California. He has a relaxed style and, while not that much of an improviser, his melodic interpretations of standards mix in well with his repertoire of classic and contemporary rags.

Perkins’ wide-ranging set includes such highlights as Scott Joplin’s “Gladiolus Rag” (one of Joplin’s most beautiful if often overlooked compositions), “Golden Wedding” which is reminiscent of Donald Lambert, Joseph Lamb’s delightful if obscure “Excelsior Rag,” a joyful rendition of Fats Waller’s “Keeping Out Of Mischief Now,” and “After You’ve Gone.” Perkins plays flawlessly throughout the rags and is tasteful on the jazz pieces.

With the bonus of extensive liner notes in the 16-page booklet by fellow pianist and friend Vincent Johnson, Snowy Morning Blues is an excellent acquisition for ragtime collectors.

Snowy Morning Blues (Rivermont BSW-2239, 16 selections, TT = 65:35) www.rivermontrecords.com

Will Perkins: Snowy Morning Blues

Scott Yanow
September 1, 2017
Album Reviews

Scott Yanow

Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings.

Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.