The Rags Thread

[gigiranalli]

Dear Barry (jellyroll) and Rob,
I'd like to thank you for the great contribution you're giving to "The Rags Thread" on Pianophilia!!!
I beg your pardon (to both) for having disappeared for a long time: I will write to both soon through the email.
For the moment I'd just post a midi file of "Some Blues For You All", hand-played by Richard Zimmerman: this blue rag is clearly a reworking of Bennett's earlier "Sweet Pickles Rag" from 1907: http://digital.library.msstate.edu/cgi- ... =24229.pdf
Speaking of the blues, I also post what is considered to be the first ragtime song with the "Blues" word in the title.
It's not a rare piece, but quite a nice one anyway. The title is "I've Got De Blues", by Smith and Bowman, from 1901.
Thanks again for the great music and talk to you soon!
Best RAGards
Luigi

P.S.
By the way, when you have some time let's check this website, if you haven't done it yet:
http://pi.library.yorku.ca/dspace/handle/10315/8004
It features the sheet music collection of the late John Arpin. They're still uploading material from time to time.
If you search for "ragtime" or "fox trot" ore "jazz" you may find a bunch of interesting pieces

Richard Zimmerman - Some Blues For You All (Bennett).MID

Smith, Chris & Bowman, Elmer - I've Got De Blues.pdf

[tobyjj]

Hello Luigi,

Wow! Long Time No Hear!
I have been missing your rare recordings.

welcome back !

regard,
tobyjj

[jellyroll]

Hello Luigi
Welcome back

[Rob C.]

Luigi,

My good friend, we are thrilled to see you back in action!!! The ragtime world's not the same without you!

With warm RAGards,

Rob

[Rob C.]

Dabney, Ford T. - Georgia Grind (1915).pdf

Georgia Grind (1915) slower.MID

Hi Everyone,

As promised in my 1st July 16 post--here is # 4 on my list of 1994 wants accompanying by a midi. I don't know how rare this is (or even if it is), but I sure had a difficult time getting a copy (it took over a decade). It was worth the wait, it's truly a beautiful piece of music. Regarding this piece, Jasen and Tichenor write: "The 'Grind' was usually a slow blues, but as done here is a beautiful rag equally effective taken at a fast or slow tempo." I agree (hey, they used the same adjective I did--beautiful). Hope you all enjoy it.

BTW, I wouldn't be posting here if Luigi hadn't suggested it. I didn't think I had much of anything worthwhile for such a special breed of ragtimers (when I think of all the amazing things I've downloaded here--it boggles the mind), but, geography (and luck) play a role in our acquisitions. (I'll keep looking on those high shelves, Toby !)

Best to all,

Rob

[Rob C.]

Ressegue, Addison J. - Coney Island Dip (1901).pdf

Coney Island Dip (1901).MID

Phillips, Ethel Stuart - Classy Rag (1915).pdf

Classy Rag (1915).MID

Klaphake, Lillian Rose - Bag O Rags (1910).pdf

Bag O' Rags (1910).MID

Hi Everyone,

Here are 3 more rags (along with midis of each one).

The first, "Coney Island Dip," is one of my dear wife's all-time favorites and was, according to the cover, "played nightly on the Steamer Island Queen," most likely on a calliope. Excellent rag--if you haven't heard it, one I'm sure you'll enjoy.

The second, "Classy Rag" is quite interesting as it's self-published but arranged by Clarence Woods!

The last, "Bag 'O' Rag" was written by Lillian Klaphake about whom Nora Hulse & Nan Bostick wrote in 2002: " Lillian Rose Klaphake created the 'Improved Rapid System of Ragtime Piano Playing' (1910) for the Cincinnati School of popular Music in Ohio. Klaphake was probably employed as an instructor at this school, and in this capacity, she most likely composed several wonderful pieces, none of which have survived." I'm delighted to report that that last statement is no longer true, as a copy of her instruction manual surfaced a few years back and at the very end of the book was this full-fledged rag!

Enjoy !!

Rob

[Rob C.]

Sarebresole, Paul - Come Clean (1905) corrected & re-typeset.pdf

Come Clean (1905).mid

Hello again all,

You may recall that a couple of months ago the prolific poster Mr. Jellyroll (who is greatly appreciated by me) posted the Sarebresole piece "Come Clean." You may also recall that the copy was not all that great (through no fault of Jellyroll's). It was readable, however, and, if you're like me, you're happy to get whatever you can.

Well, I just finished a midi of this piece today and my wife suggested I print out the score I'd made in the process (I use music notation software to make my midis). So, I went into the file and tidied things up a bit (which is not necessary when you're only making a midi) and thought you'd enjoy seeing the result. I made several corrections to the score and they're all listed in my midi (if you're using Van Basco's player you can read what each one is). Hope you enjoy this (and many thanks to Jellyroll for sharing a copy of the original!!!). Oh, and if you see even the tiniest error please let me know and I'll correct it and repost.

Best to all,

Rob

[Rob C.]

Fairman, George W. - Bugavue Rag (1902).pdf

Fairman, George W. - Bugavue Rag (1902).MID

Hi Everyone,

Here's a rag--a rather pleasant one--which I suppose is rather obscure (I've included a midi). This is from a photocopy (not 1st generation I'm sure--but still very readable).

BTW, does anyone out there have a copy of" Lickity-Split" (1903) by C. J. Penney? Love to see a posting of it.

Thanks and my best to all!

Rob

[Rob C.]

O'Brien, Robert J. - Unique (1902).pdf

O'Brien, Robert J. - Unique (1902).MID

McClure, Scotty - Ragtime Fiend, The (1914).pdf

McClure, Scotty - Rag Time Fiend, The (1914).MID

Ralya, Edna - Winnie's Arrival (1903).pdf

Ralya, Edna - Winnie's Arrival (1903).MID

Hemley, Alec - Pins and Needles (circa 1900).pdf

Hemley, Alec - Pins and Needles-midi by Pitt-Payne.mid

Hi Everyone,

I'm back with 4 rags today.

"Unique" by Robert J. O'Brien (composer of the more famous "Rag Picker's Rag")--though copyrighted, I think this is quite rare and it's a FANTASTIC rag!

"The Ragtime Fiend" subtitled a "Tango Rag" (which, incidentally, I don't agree with)--an interesting, self-published, folksy rag. The highlight is the trio.

"Winnie's Arrival"--Lovely self-published rag by a woman.

"Pins and Needles" by Alec Hemley--extremely rare. This was recently discovered by my friend Lothar in Holland who gave me permission to share it with all of you. The copyright is unknown, but we think it's circa 1900. The 1st two themes are syncopated but the trio isn't and has a bridge before it's repeat--both typical characteristics of very early rags. Very pleasant piece. The midi was made by James Pitt-Payne of London. BTW, Lothar has a very temperamental scanner so he's had to resort to taking digital photos. There's some glare on the right hand side of the cover of the folio Lothar found this in, but the music (the most important thing) is perfectly readable. Note that the cover admonishes that "This book must not be exported to Australasia" (the bottom of the cover also has a note to "Australiasian" agents). Mmm, interesting. Anyone ever see those alternate spellings before?

Enjoy!

Rob

[Rob C.]

Penney, C. J. - Lickity-Split (1903).pdf

Penney, C.J. - Lickity-Split (1903).MID

Hello again everyone,

A little while back I requested "Lickity-Split' on this site. Either no one owned a copy or someone who did hasn't checked the site since then. I'm happy to report that I was able to procure a photocopy of the score a few days ago. (Rarely am I that lucky that quickly.)

I knew of this piece because someone in Europe saw it advertised on eBay a couple of years ago and emailed me the seller's scan of the cover and 1st page of the score. When you see the first page of the music you'll know why I was interested in seeing the rest, as the first theme (though lightly scored) is quite syncopated. I used the seller's scan of the cover in my PDF file, but the score is all from the photocopy. I also included a fresh midi. Hope you enjoy!

Best to all,

Rob