Scott Joplin Archive
Spencer Myer – William Bolcom Piano Rags – Steinway And Sons
Spencer Myer – William Bolcom Piano Rags – Steinway And Sons 30041, 71:44 ****1/2: Pianist offers superb homage to modern-era Ragtime composer! (Spencer Myer – piano) The peak era of Ragtime was 1895-19i8. The genre was known for its unusual (at the time) syncopated tempo structure developed from African music.. This represented a polyrhythmic modification of the march time popularized by John Phillip Sousa. Early composers included Ernest Hogan, Ben Harvey and of course Scott Joplin. This development would lead to the the founding of stride piano. Joplin’s “Maple Leaf rag” influenced many future composers. The popularity of these 2/4 and 4/4 metered formats waned until a mass commercial revival in the 1970’s. This renaissance was driven by a film The Sting that featured the music of Joplin. One of the influential modern Ragtime artists was American classical composer William Bolcom. Among his many accomplishments is a cadre of Ragtime compositions, including “The Graceful Ghost Rag” and “Incineratorag”. Pianist Spencer Myer has performed with many symphony orchestras (Indianapolis, Phoenix, Richmond, Santa Fe, New Haven and China). His virtuosity and ability to interpret a wide array of genres has propelled his ascent as a classical performer. He is an in-demand chamber […]
“Dragon” – Works for alto sax & sax quartet – Albany / DANIEL SMITH: Jazz Suite for Bassoon – Summit
A nice classical-jazz couple of CDs featuring bassoon & sax. “Dragon” – Works for alto sax & sax quartet [TrackList follows] – William Perconti, alto sax/ Alloy Sax Quartet – Albany TROY1440, 49:25 ****: DANIEL SMITH: “Jazz Suite for Bassoon” [TrackList follows] – Daniel Smith, bassoon/ Bruce Boardman & Steve Grey, p./others/ The Caravaggio Ensemble – Summit DCD 656, 40:37 ****: These works represent traditional Western classical music combined with jazz, pop, folk music, and even Asian and African music. The Alloy Saxophone Quartet was formed in order to explore contemporary music, Perconti is a graduate of Bowling Green State University, Baldwin Wallace Conservatory and the U. of Iowa. He is currently on the faculty of Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho. There are eight separate works on the disc, by composers such as Rzewski, Joan Tower, Allen Blank, Hilary Tann and Joseph Martin Waters. Four works by Frederic Rzewski are performed: They consist of his various Spots. The Allan Blank work is titled Contrasts, and consists of give separate numbered movements. The combination of sax and sax quartet seems to be much more to the point than that of sax and piano. Smith is allegedly the most-recorded bassoonist in the […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
