Black & White Rag

Merry Christmas everyone!
I hope the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ brings happiness and peace to all of you and your families. And to the pianists/members of this wonderful community, creativity and inspiration.

Since the weather here keeps us indoors and since it's Christmas, why not have some fun? George Botsford's "Black & White Rag" might be just the right choice. I tried to keep it fresh and up-tempo as I could, so you will have to excuse imperfections. No time for multiple takes or revisions.
This is after a Marty Mincer performance so it has some modifications over the original score. And to be honest, I don't think I have ever heard anyone play the score exactly.

Enjoy.

Botsford - Black & White Rag ( 2:58 )

 

Whoa :!: If there were any imperfections here, I didn't hear them. And anyway, who'd care about a wrong note on a romp as infectious as this ! Not great music, but great fun. A splendid job. I would say again: nobody does this music better than you, and you should really be enrolling for this Jopin ragtime festival or whatever it's called.

It's up the site, in the various section.

 

I really liked it! Good job on keeping your tempo very steady. I'm sure my tempo would have gone nuts by the end (usually incrementally faster every 16 bars) in a piece like this, but you have a great internal metronome. Loved the clear sound of your playing. Great job!!!

 

Thank you Chris for your encouraging words. Also, thank you Nicole and Monica for listening. Your biggest compliment is that you thought it was fun. That was exactly what I was after. Thanks guys.

I guess it's what you gain after playing with good drummers for years. But really, I couldn't possibly let the tempo go beyond the 110-112 limit without getting into trouble. That's the maximum I can currently achieve.

P.S. Chris, is Christmas day your nameday? Best wishes to you if it is.

 

Fabulous!

Your rag style is fabulous.
Now, I hope that you'll record more Botsford so you have to write a bio!
If not, I'll overcome my laziness somehow and look it up on the web.
Please record more of this.

 

In fact, I've been planning to play two or three more. As Chris said, Botsford's music isn't so great but the man possessed a unique ability to create addictive and joyful pieces. And don't worry about a biography, I can easily assemble one if needed.

Thanks for listening, Stu.

 

Hi Pantelis,

Rags aren't my favorite genre, but I must say, your playing of this music is superb. The tempo is steady, the articulation is clean and crisp, and the melody just rolls on and on seemingly effortlessly. If there are fluffs in there, I could not detect them. You've done a wonderful job with the piece. I felt like I was watching an old Keystone Cops silent movie accompanied by the theater pianist! :lol:

David

 

Double post. Our software error messages are back again.

David

 

David, thank you so much for your nice words.
You know, ragtime for me is pure fun. Some rag pieces convey such an uplifting feeling which is hard to resist.
I liked what you said about the theatre pianist. Accompanying a silent film had been my secret dream when I was very young.

 

Thank you for listening, Andreas.
Yeah, Joplin is at the high end of ragtime, quite different style though compared to these New York-ish, get-up-and-dance Botsford tunes.
I have noticed that you like to study real hard any piece you output here and prefer the painstaking route towards this which I much appreciate since I am on the same wagon. You might then be interested in the more elaborate pieces by Joseph Lamb or even James Scott. If you need scores to study or just play around with, let me know, there are plenty of them freely available in online libraries.

 

My foot was tapping the entire time. Bravo, Pantelis for playing this underrated and vastly unheardof composer. I hope that you will share more rags with us because it brings joy to the gloomy winter days. (-10 degrees celcius today)

 

Thanks for listening, juufa72. More rags coming soon. :wink:
In regard to the gloomy winter, I'm afraid I'm on the opposite side here, with +18C not much of a winter, eh?

 

Now, now, Pianolady. You should limit sun exposure. You wouldn't want to look like a used leather sandal. :? ...or twenty years older because of wrinkles.

 

And that would be my pleasure, you are most welcome Monica, but not to cook or clean, god forbid, no! You should hurry though as the halcyon days are coming to an end after which, February usually is fierce and ruthless. You can get all the sun you want after mid-March until ... probably next January.
And of course, when you are fed up with sunbathing, you will have a piano to play all by yourself.

 

Sorry to intrude. Greek hospitality, as I know it, IS heaven.