Music of Africa and African Descent

Piano, Fortepiano and Harpsichord Music
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passthesalt
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Re: Music of African Descent

Post by passthesalt »

WCosand wrote:Thanks for the Dett! One of my favorite encores has been "I am the True Vine," a rather Beethovenian fugue. Unfortunately I cannot put scores on my website that were published in the 1940's.
You can hear a pianist play it very slowly at
http://www.dramonline.org/tracks/eight- ... ine/player

Walter. how do you access this site? It won't play the Dett unless I log in, but it doesn't allow me to register.
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Re: Music of African Descent

Post by WCosand »

I am stymied, too. Guess it makes a difference that I was listening to it from a university office when I gave you that link. I apologize.
Does this one work for you? Works for me:
http://www.emusic.com/album/Denver-Oldh ... 86901.html
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passthesalt
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Re: Music of African Descent

Post by passthesalt »

WCosand wrote:I am stymied, too. Guess it makes a difference that I was listening to it from a university office when I gave you that link. I apologize.
Does this one work for you? Works for me:
http://www.emusic.com/album/Denver-Oldh ... 86901.html

Yes, this link works. Thanks.
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Re: African Descent Music

Post by gigiranalli »

fhimpsl wrote:The name Lionel Belasco comes to mind re. this topic. Born in Trinidad I believe, he emigrated to the States sometime after 1910 and recorded a few piano solos for Victor around 1912. His music is in a popular vein characteristic of the West Indies styles, including calypso pieces and many very beautiful short waltzes. Belasco recorded a series of player piano rolls for the QRS company; all of his own compositions. I have several scores of his pieces which are rather inaccessible at the present, I can provide several of his numbers in midi format. The attached file(s) originally were recorded by myself from a 10-tune nickelodeon roll which featured many of LB's compositions. These are listed in the order they appear on the roll and midi file below:

Beatriz Valse (possibly by Belasco)
Moonlight In Venice
Palabras de Amor Valse
I Love Him Already (composed by Belasco)
Carlota Valse
Jennie (Composed by Belasco)
Dream Of Love Valse
Buddy Abraham (composed by Belasco)
Estrellas y Margarietas
Sly Mongoose (composed by Belasco)

I can't offer composer information on the other pieces, but musically they are within a similar vein. Please remember these are non-reproducing player piano roll recordings and hence have no expression characteristics.

Enjoy and all best,

Frank (fhimpsl)
C2030a.mid
Hi Frank,
I made a search on Pianophilia writing the name "Belasco", without any hope to find anything about this great pianist, that I like so much.
Instead I see that you have posted a number of rare scores of this composer! As always, you have the greatest things!!!
Thanks so much! :D
And this nickelodeon piano roll including several of his pieces is just FANTASTIC!!!!! :D
I have two recordings of Lionel Belasco from the Victor sessions of the mid 1910s, and they are "Bajan Girl" and "Buddy Abrahams" (I'm so glad you had the score and the roll version of this one!), both great pieces and beautifully played by this pianist.
I actually consider both pieces to be ragtime, they're quite syncopated and Belasco even add further syncopation in his improvisations.
Among the few pianists who recorded ragtime in the 1910s, my very favorite are Lionel Belasco and Felix Arndt (Arndt was the very best in my opinion) and it's too bad that the Belasco 1914 recording of "Maple Leaf Rag", the first piano solo of that rag to be recorded, was not issued. I hope it's not lost!
Later I will post a then unissued recording of another famous composer, which has fortunately been found and recently put on disc.
I'm also attaching a piano roll played by Belasco for QRS: that's "At A Trinidad Carnival" and it's beautiful. I also have a midi scan of this roll, but I think it's a bit to difficult for me to notate, since it's been arranged with two different bass lines playing together.
If there's interest about this musician, I'd be glad to post a couple of later recordings, with him and his orchestra playing some calypso tunes. Belasco's solos in one of those reocrdings is great.
Best
Luigi
Lionel Belasco (roll) -At A Trinidad Carnival (Belasco).mp3
Lionel Belasco - Buddy Abraham (Belasco).mp3
Lionel Belasco - Bajan Girl (Belasco).mp3
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Re: Music of African Descent

Post by fhimpsl »

Dear Luigi,
What a nice surprise that you found all the Belasco and enjoyed it as well!! :D Yes, I also consider pieces like his "Bajan Girl" (which he rags the living daylights out of on that 1915 disc) to be ragtime. I have quite a few of his piano rolls and they are mostly nice, but nothing you'll find there is as hot as the 1915 "Bajan Girl" and "Buddy Abraham." Also glad you liked the nickelodeon A-roll which has a lot of Belasco (it's a favorite of mine from most all ethnic rolls I've heard). I also agree that Felix Arndt was a very fine pianist, and it's a shame that he isn't acknowledged more frequently. After all he did compose ragtime and was a pioneer in the industry in recording of both piano rolls and 78rpm records. His rag "Toots" is my favorite...there is a handplayed roll of Arndt playing it as well. It was tragic that he passed at such an early age owing to the 1918-19 influenza epidemic. But a top-notch pianist he certainly was, and a very clean player. And thanks too for posting the Lionel Belasco 78rpm...I heard that many years ago but did not get a tape dubbing (and never found the record...very scarce stuff!) Terrific!!
All best,
Frank :D
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Re: Music of African Descent

Post by gigiranalli »

fhimpsl wrote:Dear Luigi,
What a nice surprise that you found all the Belasco and enjoyed it as well!! :D Yes, I also consider pieces like his "Bajan Girl" (which he rags the living daylights out of on that 1915 disc) to be ragtime. I have quite a few of his piano rolls and they are mostly nice, but nothing you'll find there is as hot as the 1915 "Bajan Girl" and "Buddy Abraham." Also glad you liked the nickelodeon A-roll which has a lot of Belasco (it's a favorite of mine from most all ethnic rolls I've heard). I also agree that Felix Arndt was a very fine pianist, and it's a shame that he isn't acknowledged more frequently. After all he did compose ragtime and was a pioneer in the industry in recording of both piano rolls and 78rpm records. His rag "Toots" is my favorite...there is a handplayed roll of Arndt playing it as well. It was tragic that he passed at such an early age owing to the 1918-19 influenza epidemic. But a top-notch pianist he certainly was, and a very clean player. And thanks too for posting the Lionel Belasco 78rpm...I heard that many years ago but did not get a tape dubbing (and never found the record...very scarce stuff!) Terrific!!
All best,
Frank :D
Dear Frank,
I'm very glad that you enjoyed the recordings :)
I noticed that the published version and the piano roll of "Buddy Abrahams" are both in F major and they both feature a strain that is not present in the 1915 recording, which is in D major (I don't think there's a speed-and-pich problem with that recording).
Maybe Belasco tried to improve the piece through the years, or maybe the Jack Mills arrangers have tried to add to it?
It's too bad that his recording of "Maple Leaf Rag" was not issued!
And it's too bad that the Victor recordings of Arndt playing "The Smiler" or "Porto Rico Rag" are unissued as well...it seems strange to me that Arndt recorded so many ragtime solos for Victor and they only issued the two that were parodies of classical music, "Operatic Nihtmare" and "Desecration Rag" (if only Mike Bernard had half of Arndt's bounceness and ragginess...). The rest of the issued recordings of Arndt, Nola, Marionette, etc...is very good, but I'd preferred to hear Sumurun Rag" or "The Haunting Rag" or "The Smiler" (of the latter, I will soon post my transcription of Arndt's hand-played roll).
I also love his piano roll of "Toots"!!! And also his recording with Clarence Penney of the piece, although only Penney is heardable...
Best
:D Luigi
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Re: Music of African Descent

Post by fhimpsl »

Dear Luigi,
I think you're right that both Mills and QRS had a lot to do with changing around the Belasco pieces "Bajan Girl" and "Buddy Abraham." There was apparently quite an interest in the music of the West Indies in the early 1920s. With a few exceptions like "Trinidad Carnival -1922" which was an instrumental, most of these rolls were meant for sing-a-long. Hence the slower fox trot arrangement of "Bajan Girl." It would have been hard to sing at the ragtime tempo originally conceived by Belasco! :shock: But what I don't understand is why Mills dropped the lyrics for the published sheet music, when all the QRS song rolls had lyrics printed on them. It is remotely possible that Mills held the copyright on the piano scores alone, and another outfit (maybe QRS) owned rights to the lyrics. This happened frequently on piano rolls, especially instrumental marches where QRS or US would pay someone to write lyrics to print on the roll.
Yes it is a shame that we don't have Belasco's recording of MLR. There was a Calypso version of the rag done on the Rollo Mexico label during the 1920s which is interesting (but somewhat sacrilegious at the same time!) :roll:
Felix Arndt did record a lot of ragtime on piano rolls and it's a shame his 78rpm takes were not issued. He made so many rolls for the Aeolian Corp. that they often used the pseudonym Paul Paris for him to make it seem they had a larger recording staff. Many other roll companies did this, especially QRS with all the J.Lawrence Cook pseudonyms (Sid Laney, Pep Doyle, etc.) Well, we can always hope a test pressing will turn up some day!
All best,
Frank :D
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Re: Music of African Descent

Post by gigiranalli »

fhimpsl wrote:Dear Luigi,
I think you're right that both Mills and QRS had a lot to do with changing around the Belasco pieces "Bajan Girl" and "Buddy Abraham." There was apparently quite an interest in the music of the West Indies in the early 1920s. With a few exceptions like "Trinidad Carnival -1922" which was an instrumental, most of these rolls were meant for sing-a-long. Hence the slower fox trot arrangement of "Bajan Girl." It would have been hard to sing at the ragtime tempo originally conceived by Belasco! :shock: But what I don't understand is why Mills dropped the lyrics for the published sheet music, when all the QRS song rolls had lyrics printed on them. It is remotely possible that Mills held the copyright on the piano scores alone, and another outfit (maybe QRS) owned rights to the lyrics. This happened frequently on piano rolls, especially instrumental marches where QRS or US would pay someone to write lyrics to print on the roll.
Yes it is a shame that we don't have Belasco's recording of MLR. There was a Calypso version of the rag done on the Rollo Mexico label during the 1920s which is interesting (but somewhat sacrilegious at the same time!) :roll:
Felix Arndt did record a lot of ragtime on piano rolls and it's a shame his 78rpm takes were not issued. He made so many rolls for the Aeolian Corp. that they often used the pseudonym Paul Paris for him to make it seem they had a larger recording staff. Many other roll companies did this, especially QRS with all the J.Lawrence Cook pseudonyms (Sid Laney, Pep Doyle, etc.) Well, we can always hope a test pressing will turn up some day!
All best,
Frank :D
Dear Frank,
thank you so much for the explanation!
In the following days I'd like to ask you for information on certain piano roll artists of whom I'm very curious.
I can't find this kind of information in any book...
BTW did you have the possibility to meet any roll artists of the period? I'd be very interested in their stories or their comments about the music, etc...
I have an article about Roy Bargy, including some of his comments about his collaboration with Charley Straight and his piano rolls. I will post it in the Piano Roll Transcription section soon.
Best
Luigi
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Re: Music of African Descent

Post by fhimpsl »

Dear Luigi,
The only original piano roll artist who I was fortunate enough to meet was Eubie Blake. He was one of the sweetest gentlemen I have ever met, and spent a lot of time talking with me, playing and listening to me play his rags! I will never forget what a kind and generous person Eubie was. I missed meeting Zez Confrey by only a few months. We lived very close to Zez at the time, but I wasn't aware of that fact. Dave Jasen got to meet him in 1971, just before Zez passed away. He was the only collector who met Zez, and most of the time was spent discussing his 78rpm recordings and not the piano rolls. I did become very close friends with the Confrey family later on though, and obtained a good deal of information through that friendship. Mike Montgomery probably met more of the original roll artists than anyone. I do have a lot of information re. the roll artists and roll catalog information, and would happy to answer any questions you have to the best of my ability. :)
All best,
Frank :D
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Re: Music of African Descent

Post by burstroman »

Would someone please post the Biblical Vignettes or at least "I Am the True Vine" by Nathaniel Dett? Thank you.
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