Here are a few pieces I have done for one project or another but not yet posted, including some Joplin. A reminder that you can click on the name of most of the composers shown here to read a biography of their life and a full listing of their known works, or go directly to the composer biography section starting at Classic Composer Biographies

Scott Joplin - 1896: Waltzes were both ubiquitous and plentiful in the 1890s, and while other music forms were in flux, the waltz was still a reliable staple. To modern ears, however, they seem to go on forever, and they often do. In fact, many compositions would use the terme waltzes instead of waltz, given the number of sections in a piece. Joplin also proved himself to be a capable waltz writer in this early effort. His forceful 2/4 introduction leads into a gentle waltz that grows in complexity and intensity through second section, taking a breather in a nice minor strain. There is some nice development in the D section and a hint of syncopation in the E section with the right hand chords. Another gentle strain and another development eventually leads us back to the A and B sections. There are no prominent indicators of his ragtime propensities here since they were not yet fully realized. Joplin's sense of harmonic patterns and completion of phrases is very evident, however, as is his judicious use of either 16 or 32 bars as necessary to complete a musical idea. The piece was published in his native home of Texas, but it is unclear if "Harmony Club" refers to a place of business or one of the groups he performed with.

Arthur Marshall and Scott Joplin - 1907: This is the only other collaboration between Joplin and Marshall after Swipesy in 1900, and is likely to have been written no later than 1905, as both many had gone on to different lives by this time. It is an elegant and regal piece, and Marshall told historian Rudi Blesh that he was responsible for the entire contents, but there are hints that Joplin had a hand in it. It was published in New York City at a time when Marshall was in Chicago, so Joplin was most likely responsible for the submission of the piece. The opening section has very little syncopation, relying on chords to carry the melody. The B section has some Joplin touches, including sustained notes under the melody and the last four measures that tie into the idea of the A strain. There are hints of the idea of the rhythmic break that would be prevalant in the jazz age within the trio. After introducing the trio melody a nice descending treble strain takes that break, but only once in the section, another unusual an innovative move. The final section is clearly Marshall shining through, and it has the feeling of banjos playing a happy strain, reminiscent of how Joplin would handle the last section of Wall Street Rag two years later. The title, which may have been chosen by Marshall, could possibly be a reference to a riverboat, many of which were named something or another Queen during their heyday.

: Of all the traditional jazz standards in the history of the genre, this one still remains in the top ten among fans and musicians alike, in part because of the KISS (keep it simple stupid) paradigm. Ory started out on banjo in New Orleans, but switched to trombone after a few years. He then moved to LA around 1919, one of only a handful of N.O. musicians to do so. At this time he wanted to also add saxophone to his skillset, and it was while practicing this instrument that he came up with this simple but catchy melody, a variance on The Old Cow Died and Brock Cried from New Orleans. After working with it he decided to tuck it away for future reference. That was in 1921. It emerged a couple of times over the next few years, but nothing much came of it. After subsequently moving to Chicago, Ory was in a recording session with Louis Armstrong and they ran short of a side. He pulled out Muskrat Ramble (which Lil Armstrong allegedly named on the spot) and they quickly worked it out, making the first official recording. It was a hit in very short order. However, when it came time to release it, the publisher and record label both reportedly wanted to avoid the rodent-centric connotation of "rat" in the title, and renamed it variously Muskat Ramble or Muscat Ramble, equating it to a particular European wine instead. (The real muskrat is a fairly large aquatic rodent indigenous mostly to the Mid-Atlantic states of North America.) No matter the title, it is still performed somewhere in the world almost every day, and virtually no traditional jazz band or pianist is missing this from their repertoire. The opening chord progression was, I am guessing, in standard use well before Ory took it on. Scott Joplin uses the first ten bars of this same progression in Searchlight Rag, which you will hear briefly in the final chorus of this performance. A piano reduction of such a dynamic band piece is always challenging, so I have simply tried to keep the requisite improvised choruses to a minimum for the sake of avoiding monotony given the limited timbre possibilities of the piano. Note that there was one obvious lift of this song in the 1960s by Country Joe (McDonald) and The Fish, who added words to it for a Vietnam War protest song titled I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixn'-to-Die Rag. A lawsuit filed in 2001 some 36 years after their initial recording was settled in 2003 and on appeal in 2005 in favor of McDonald because so much time had passed, but also attests to the universal appeal of this catchy tune. So (with apologies to Captain and Tenille) get ready to engage in some fun Muskrat Love.

Animals were long a popular genre in music, even before ragtime. However, early popular music forms allowed more flexibility in capturing some of the noted characteristics of animals, both domestic and wild, in a more stylistic manner. Here are some more examples ranging from bugs to reptiles and other interesting specimens.

Bill Edwards - 2007: This piece, entered in the 2007 New Rag competition in Peoria IL, came about to fill a gap in the musical animal lexicon. While there has long been an Alligator Crawl, Fats Waller's great musical treat, the crocodile has been overlooked, or cast as a villain or simple-minded buffoon. Even in the Disney pantheon, alligators were given star treatment in Fantasia dancing to those hours. Yet a crocodile is seen as the totally silly bane of Captain Hook in Peter Pan. Well, that's enough! It was the great Crocodile Hunter himself, the late Steve Irwin of the Australian Zoo, who brought to bear that crocodiles, and so many other reptiles and strange creatures, are actually very beneficial to the natural balance of life on our planet. They have their own interesting lives and stories like we do. They just happen to kill and eat other animals (as many of us also do, actually). So what! Ragtimers eat pianos for breakfast, and spit them out before lunch. So hopefully this piece will right a number of wrongs, or at least raise awareness for both endangered species - crocodiles and ragtime pianists. Prayers and many thanks go to Steve's widow Terri, his dynamic daughter Bindi who is following in dad's boot prints, and his son Bob who has a great journey ahead learning about his magnificent father. It is to Steve's memory that this piece is dedicated.

Copyright ©2007 Siggnal Sounds and Bill Edwards.

Rattlesnake Rag

Lyrics

Ethwell "Eddy" Hanson - 1917/ Additional content by Lou Busch - 1952: This fun-to-play piece actually did not become popular until 35 years after it was initially published and included on piano rolls. Hanson was a Wisconsin native who focused more on organ than piano works. In his earlier years he played for movie houses on both instruments, then for the stars of many of those movies for war bond rallies while in the navy during World War One. Hanson was also a radio pioneer, starting at WDAP (now WGN) in 1923, and was later noted for his popular songs and organ work on the radio throughout the mid 20th century. His composition The Wisconsin Waltz is the unofficial state anthem. His biggest hit was At the End of the Sunset Trail in 1924. But this first of his commercial compositions, Rattlesnake Rag, saw limited distribution in the beginning in both rag and song form. A revamped version which was heavily arranged by Lou Busch (and used here) was released in 1952 both in sheet form and on a recording by Busch as Joe "Fingers" Carr. He has excised the repeat of the B section in the new key in favor of the opening theme, and his trio interlude is more "rattler-like" than the original. Busch's arrangement could also be subtitled The Relentless Rag since it moves along with no real breaks at a pretty good pace. Busch's recording was also used in the 1980 Warren Beatty film, Reds. Just don't get too rattled if you try to strike at it yourself.

Harry Augustus Fischler - 1911: Yet another of the easily recognized Walter J. Dittmar's single-colored covers graces this Fischler entry from Vandersloot (Dittmar was color-blind, thus his preference for the single shade). This particular cover is comic without being so offensive as some of the Vandersloot output of that time was. Fischler turns in another pleasant and playable rag - actually a bit more challenging than usual - which really bears no thematic tie-in to the cover. The genus name for the black wasp is actually Sphex pennsylvanica given their early concentration noted in the Pennsylvania colony. So the local connection can be understood considering Vandersloot's location in Lycoming County in the central part of the state. The A section actually romps a bit after the opening. The B section (also D) has some awkward left hand progressions, which you will hear in the first iteration, but which have been supplanted thereafter. The rapid left hand runs were infrequently used to this degree in ragtime, but provide a nice dialogue between the hands. You will hear several variations on this within. Control is the key for the trio, which continues the same general motive as the B section but more subdued. All in all, it's not quite a hornet's nest of notes, and it won't give you hives, so what's to lose by listening?

Donald Garcia - 1910: Vandersloot Music was consistent in their output in both the look and feel, thanks to Walter J. Dittmar's innovative but simple covers, and in average to better quality, which was largely guided by music head and staff composer Harry J. Lincoln. This piece falls right into that groove, although searches trying to yield more information on the composer were fruitless. Jack Rabbit Rag seems to be the only piece of Garcia's that was published. It may also be a pseudonym, for Lincoln if for anybody, but the content seems inconsistent with Lincoln's body of work. While this rag does not jump right off the page initially, it hops right along as we get into the trio. The opening bars are actually a quote from the notorious melody Funky Butt, also used in St. Louis Tickle, which is followed by a typical B section for a Vandersloot publication. Then comes the trio for which many fun folk/country-style variations are possible. Of note is the full-sized interlude which is repeated, reminiscent of some of the classic rags of Scott Joplin. For continuity and variety I have instead chosen Trio Int Trio Int Trio, more common for that time period, and had some fun with it towards the end. So perk those ears up, and maybe the rabbit pace on this one will get your hare standing on end.

George L. Cobb - 1913: Cobb was well-established in New York by this time, and was gaining ground as a songwriter with his partner Jack Yellen. Yet he still enjoyed writing clever instrumentals such as this one, infused with his sense of humor. It would be a few years yet before he would be turning out his clever novelty pieces like Russian Rag, but there are stirrings of what was to come within the covers of The Baboon Bounce. One of those was the swing feel notated within the piece infused with many triplet figures. It translated musically very well into the image of the large simians playing at the zoo or even in their natural habitat. The shortened B section starts with what might be called a lumbering feel. The trio has the makings of, and was perhaps intended for, a dance craze associated with the title that would have indeed been fascinating to watch in those days. It would not have been hard to contrive clever lyrics for this section. In spite of any perceptions of frivolity in his music, it became clear that Cobb knew when he had something good going, and typically didn't monkey around with it.

Will Nash - 1915: W.C. Handy had been burned by the initial handling of the publication of his Memphis Blues in 1912, and from that lesson was able to regroup and form the Pace-Handy Music Company with a partner. One of their goals, which was shared with the famed Gotham-Attucks house of New York City, was to forward the publication of works by black composers who were not being given a fair shake elsewhere. Nash was a pianist in Handy's band in 1915, and submitted this blues (subtitled "An Etude in Ragtime"), which Handy put into print. It shares some stylistic elements of Artie Matthews' Weary Blues of the same year, including early stirrings of what would become boogie or boogie woogie style. Of interest here is the trio, which is an innovative blues in thirds, one of the earliest of its kind. This was also one of the first pieces that Handy and his band, presumably with Nash at the piano, recorded in 1917. As for the title, "Snakey" is most likely derived from the description of a kind of seductive dance that had been gaining popularity on stage as well as in bordellos of the time, but dated back to as early as 1893 with Little Egypt at the Chicago Columbian Exposition. I can't dance the dance (hold your applause), but can play the trance. Fangs for listening.

Gerhard Jacobzon - 1920: With the huge success of Pee Wee Hunt's 1948 12th Street Rag recording, as well as the world-wide distribution of the Honky Tonk Piano LP by Capitol, ragtime became an item of great interest in Europe in particular. In truth, it was actually more popular there in the 1930s and 1940s than it was in the U.S. Even earlier than that, Jacobzon, a Norwegian composer, came out with this "Fox Trot" which is really a rag, and appears to be his only composition of note, yet well recorded in Europe when it was re-released in the 1950s. The A section is very clearly marked ppp with pp on the repeat, likely to provide contrast between the Wild Cat stalking its prey in the opening, and then pouncing with no mercy on the first two sfz chords of the B section. Much of it seems to be modeled on George Botsford's Black and White Rag, particularly the trio which has a similar melody and the same chord progression. Yet it remains original in many aspects. Not too sure what kind of katten that is on the cover, but a bobcat seems to come to mind. The lyrics (difficult to translate, so not included) suggest a female that marries then mentally devours her men with insanity. Perhaps this should be categorized as a Kat Trot?

Richard DuPage - 1933: Dick DuPage was to music in the mid 20th century what a character actor often is to TV and movies. You don't know them specifically, but you are aware of them as they are frequently at the periphery of the action. A Kansas City native, DuPage was musically trained as a pianist and arranger, and started writing in the late 1920s. Much of his work is known to jazz lovers as an arranger, including a stint as staff composer/arranger on New York City's WOR for radio dramas, as well as a film composer. His skill at composing the background and bridge music to set up or underscore the emotions of the listeners was highly regarded. He later was also valuable as a historian, having worked with many of the greats when jazz was still new. This piece is one of his forays into 1930s hot jazz, and is a piano reduction of the original which was recorded by Bert Lown and His Orchestra the year of its release. There are some elements of Ellington style in here, and some of the darker side of Waller as well. Only one 32 bar section of this short work is repeated, so that's where the most variations from the score occur in this performance. The ending is also rather cryptic, and just trails off. While this Black Panther is hardly militant, it is certainly stealthily dangerous in any musical regard.

Copyright ©1933/1959 by Richard DuPage.