Re: School of Syncopation - Jazz, Stride, Novelties & the Like.
Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 7:33 pm
Hello Friends,
In the last few weeks we have had some very interesting discussions posted on the Syncopations thread, with topics ranging from ragtime to blues to stride and novelty piano! Luigi Ranalli has presented us with several extremely interesting historical overviews dealing with such subjects as the "Texas Ragtime" sound and the "New Orleans" sound. He has also posted examples of both sheet music and 78rpm recordings to illustrate differences in playing styles which existed in the early days of ragtime.
We have also discussed George W. Thomas; a composer who can rightfully lay claim to be the originator of "boogie woogie" piano. I would like to post the works of this important composer in the form of a series of piano roll recordings. Most all of these rolls are extremely rare, and represent the combined collecting efforts of acclaimed jazz researcher Mike Montgomery and myself from 1950 to the present day. Listening to these recordings will reveal George W. Thomas as a true "original" in the jazz world, with an eccentric and esoteric style which grew out of his early roots in Houston and New Orleans. Towards this end, I would like to begin by posting two of Thomas' best-known compositions: "The Rocks," and "The Fives."
About the rolls....Thomas was a self promoter who published his own original music, and paid to have piano rolls made by the Kimball Player Roll Co. of Chicago. These rolls are essentially highly orchestrated arrangements made from lead sheet scores, but most likely under the supervision of either Thomas himself or his pianistically gifted younger brother Hersal. They are in essence a cross between orchestrated, mechanical sounding piano rolls and true hand-played performances. Thomas sold these rolls (and sheet music as well) out of his own publishing house which he established in Chicago (mostly by mail order & advertising in Black newspapers and music trade journals). If one of his tunes gained sufficient popularity, it would be picked up by the recording companies and also other piano roll manufacturers, the most important of which were the QRS Company and United States Music Roll Co., all of which were Chicago-based. With QRS and US, J. Lawrence Cook was generally the artist used to arrange hand-played rolls of blues compositions. In all cases the earliest roll version (and that most directly linked to Thomas) is that issued on the Kimball label.
So here are the issued piano roll versions of "The Rocks" and "The Fives" by George W. Thomas....
All best,
Frank
In the last few weeks we have had some very interesting discussions posted on the Syncopations thread, with topics ranging from ragtime to blues to stride and novelty piano! Luigi Ranalli has presented us with several extremely interesting historical overviews dealing with such subjects as the "Texas Ragtime" sound and the "New Orleans" sound. He has also posted examples of both sheet music and 78rpm recordings to illustrate differences in playing styles which existed in the early days of ragtime.
We have also discussed George W. Thomas; a composer who can rightfully lay claim to be the originator of "boogie woogie" piano. I would like to post the works of this important composer in the form of a series of piano roll recordings. Most all of these rolls are extremely rare, and represent the combined collecting efforts of acclaimed jazz researcher Mike Montgomery and myself from 1950 to the present day. Listening to these recordings will reveal George W. Thomas as a true "original" in the jazz world, with an eccentric and esoteric style which grew out of his early roots in Houston and New Orleans. Towards this end, I would like to begin by posting two of Thomas' best-known compositions: "The Rocks," and "The Fives."
About the rolls....Thomas was a self promoter who published his own original music, and paid to have piano rolls made by the Kimball Player Roll Co. of Chicago. These rolls are essentially highly orchestrated arrangements made from lead sheet scores, but most likely under the supervision of either Thomas himself or his pianistically gifted younger brother Hersal. They are in essence a cross between orchestrated, mechanical sounding piano rolls and true hand-played performances. Thomas sold these rolls (and sheet music as well) out of his own publishing house which he established in Chicago (mostly by mail order & advertising in Black newspapers and music trade journals). If one of his tunes gained sufficient popularity, it would be picked up by the recording companies and also other piano roll manufacturers, the most important of which were the QRS Company and United States Music Roll Co., all of which were Chicago-based. With QRS and US, J. Lawrence Cook was generally the artist used to arrange hand-played rolls of blues compositions. In all cases the earliest roll version (and that most directly linked to Thomas) is that issued on the Kimball label.
So here are the issued piano roll versions of "The Rocks" and "The Fives" by George W. Thomas....
All best,
Frank