SOMETHING DOING
JULY 2001 NUMBER 63
SPECIAL MEETING
Prior to the regular meeting of the Rose Leaf Club this month there will be a short business meeting at 1:30 p.m. to address the following issues: 1) A way to reach music teachers so as to make them aware of our club and possibly to create a scholarship for promising ragtime students; 2) The possibility of sponsoring a ragtime festival in the L.A. area,
3) The possibility of T-shirts and/or caps with the Rose Leaf Ragtime Club logo.
Rose Leaf Ragtime Club June Meeting (6/24/2001)
Reported by Gary Rametta
The June meeting of the Rose Leaf Ragtime Club began promptly at 2:30 p.m.on June 24th in the banquet room of the Pasadena IHOP. Quite a few guests had already arrived ahead of time. Before the end of the first solos, the room was once again nearly maxxed out.
Gary Rametta started things off with Scott Joplin's "Elite Syncopations" from 1902, a fun to play rag with a variety of melodic and rhythmic textures. Next, Gary premiered a new James Scott addition to his play list, "Ragtime Betty" (1909), a lovely piece that definitely shows Joplin's influence, but containing some of Scott's unique musical devices that he developed further over the next 10 years. Gary concluded his set with a good-time duet version of the Joplin/Scott Hayden classic, "Sunflower Slow Drag" (1901), joined by Bill Mitchell.
Bill Mitchell soloed on another 1909 James Scott piece, "Sunburst Rag," which has a totally original flavor. Its "C" section is very pop-tune like-ragtime writers Jasen and Tichenor credit it as a precursor to novelty ragtime, and even much-later pop songs like Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' "Spanish Flea." Bill dedicated his performance to the memory of his friend Pete Clute, a former member of the San Francisco-based Turk Murphy band and one-time student of pianist Wally Rose. Next, Bill gave the keys a workout on J. Bodewalt Lampe's "Creole Belles," a famous cakewalk from 1901. Bill's set concluded with a Harry Belding rag from the mid-teens, "Apple Sass." Belding also wrote "Good Gravy Rag," another Bill Mitchell favorite.
Phil Cannon, with guitar/banjo in hand, introduced his set-a series of patriotic tunes in anticipation of the Fourth of July. First was a rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner," featuring his usual sleight-of-hand (or should I say "fingers?"), and a recapitulation of the theme in a change of key. In keeping with the ragtime spirit of the club, he played Joseph Lamb's great "American Beauty," perhaps a stretch as a patriotic piece, but a classic and highly original rag by a great American composer nonetheless. Saving his best playing for the finale, Phil performed a medley of Sousa marches, beginning with "El Capitan," segueing into "Semper Fidelis" (my favorite and terrifically played), and ending with, of course, "Stars and Stripes Forever." The only thing missing was a roman candle!
Young Ruby Fradkin charmed us next, with her always-endearing introduction and right-down-to-business approach. Ruby cranked out a complete version of Joplin's great "Cascades" rag in duet with Phil, followed by right-on-target solo renditions of "Camptown Races" and Leadbelly's "Pick a Bale of Cotton." She finished up with "Tom Dooley," keeping impeccable time and employing her constantly improving piano stylings.
Nancy Kleier had returned from the Sacramento Jazz Festival and gave a rundown on events that took place at the Festival's Ragtime Corner. She then introduced her theme-things to do in the month of June. First was an ode to graduation, with club member Eric Marchese's "Valedictory Rag." Nancy's interpretation of this piece was sweet and pensive. She continued with a nod to patriotic tunes with Merced composer Tom Brier's "Fireworks Rag," a pleasant excursion that's faithful to the classic rag form. For her finale, she chose a song to remind us of a June picnic: Cecil Macklin's "Tres Moutarde" (Too Much Mustard). This is a humorous two-step with catchy hooks. During Nancy's performance, I couldn't help but recall Canadian pianist Mimi Blais' hilarious rendition of this piece, complete with a less-than-perfect pitch vocal accompaniment." (;Too much mustard in the pot(;makes the beans and rice too hot(;Cool those kisses down!"
Next up was a trio consisting of George McClellan and Lee Roan on the pianos, joined by newcomer Jim Campbell on banjo. Their first selection was the old New Orleans favorite "Hard Hearted Hanna," followed by "Lovin' Sam" (1922) and Milton Ager's "Louisville Lou"(1923). Not bad, not bad at all for a first run. As we've found with Phil Cannon's playing, a banjo or banjo/guitar really adds a folksy, down-home flavor to the old standards. Hope Jim can come back so we can hear some more. Next time, we'll try and get the sound mix a little better!
Gary segued into our next performer with a hard-charging rendition of Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag."
Next at the keys was octogenarian Tom Handforth. Tom's been working on some Joplin tunes, and gave us the master's "The Strenuous Life" rag, which he was shaping up in preparation for his Fourth of July performance at a local holiday festival. Quite appropriate, considering its decidedly march-like feel. Tom followed up with Sousa's "Stars and Stripes," a number he's really got under his fingers. I especially admired his treatment of the trio section, in which he plays the melody in the left hand and the piccolo countermelody in the right.
Ron Ross took us to the break with two of his original compositions. First was "Small Town Private Eye," a catchy ditty with a kind of Mac-the-Knife feel. For me, hearing this tune evokes visions of dark, wet, smoky streets. Ron's next solo was a recently-written rag called "Joplinesque-A Gringo Tango." In it, Ron develops the theme over a resonating habañera beat, while making nice use of augmented chords as leading tones.
Following a brief intermission, Yuko Shimazaki got the ragtime train going again with two great Joplin compositions. First was "Solace-A Mexican Serenade," a tune re-popularized by the movie "The Sting." Yuko performs this piece at a slower tempo than most other ragtime pianists, but under her fingers, the piece turns out to be much more than just a succession of notes following some sort of logical order. Yuko is able to dig deeper; she finds the story that Joplin is telling, a story that's lovely and longing, but also optimistic and resolute. Yuko gracefully transitioned from the solitary final chord of "Solace" into the composer's creative "Rose Leaf Rag." Her performance of this multi-faceted gem was soulful and well-executed.
Following Yuko was a new performer, Brenda Brubaker. She shared her enthusiasm for ragtime by performing two pieces by New York-born composer and arranger George Cobb. First was Cobb's "Russian Rag," a ragtime interpretation of Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in C Sharp minor." Brenda followed up with an arrangement of one of Cobb's popular songs, "Alabama Jubilee." She did a very good job on both pieces, particularly "Russian Rag." We hope to hear more!
Martin Choate teamed up with Ron Ross in a slightly-revised version of his piano/vocal number "I Done Left My Hip Boots in the Other Car." Definitely an enjoyable novelty piece with a touch of frivolity-it went over quite well with the audience. Next, Martin revisited his recently composed "Ragga con Dolcezza." The sweet theme stated in the "A" section unfolds into a pleasant and interesting exploration of ragtime. Very nicely done. As we headed into the final turn, Bill Coleman came up and got the ivories working on "Turkey in the Straw" and a fully-fleshed rendition of Berlin's "Alexander's Ragtime Band." Les Soper arrived late, but we definitely wanted to hear what he had in store. First was James Scott's timeless "Grace and Beauty," (1909), followed by a dazzling performance of Galen Wilkes' "Oyster Shimmy." This piece was named after a dance performed by women in the pleasure houses of New Orleans' legendary Storyville district. Wilkes-and Les-definitely captured the rollicking and raunchy texture of that scene.
As we hit the home stretch, Bill Mitchell and George McClellan played their first-ever duet at the Rose Leaf Ragtime Club. They chose a great standard, "Sweet Georgia Brown," and it was simply a delight to hear them play together. The breadth of their musical understanding and command of the keys really came through. Let's hear some more, gents!
To close out the meeting, we drafted some more players into ad-hoc combos. Nancy, Ruby, Les (with a much smaller and more portable washboard) and Phil did a wonderful job on Joplin and Marshall's "Swipesy Cakewalk" (1901). We hit the finish line with a groovin' roadhouse blues jam, with Bill, Ruby, Les and Phil combining their talents and leaving everyone with a smile on their face.
If you missed the meeting, you missed another great time. But there's always this month! We hope you can be there to join us. Our next get-together is Sunday, July 29th, from 2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
OLD TOWN MUSIC HALL
2001 RAGTIME FESTIVAL
Reported by Ron Ross
For the 26th year in a row, the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo presented its annual Southern California Ragtime Festival over a three-day span, June 15-17, hosted by proprietor Bill Coffman. As always, Mr. Coffman welcomed the near-packed house with his sardonic one-liners and Don Rickles-ish wit. This year's performers were, once again, Robbie Rhodes, Jim Turner, Alex Hassan and Kathy Craig.
After softening up the crowd with some verbal left-hooks and disarming humor, Mr. Coffman introduced the first performer, Robbie Rhodes. Robbie opened with "Stormin' the Castle," a 1976 Mississippi Valley rag composed by Bob Ault. Its name is in reference to a gentlemen's club in the old Red Light district of St. Louis.
Next, Robbie performed "Steppin' Out," a late-'20s novelty by Con Conrad. He followed up with Jimmy Blythe's "Carolina Stomp," a very lively piece to which I could imagine "flappers" dancing.
Jim Turner joined Robbie for a duet on the Joplin/Marshall favorite, "Swipesy Cakewalk". Jim carried on alone, playing a spirited, improvised version of Joplin's "Solace" (too fast and jumpy for my taste). This was followed by what I consider Jim Turner's signature performance, Johnny Guarnieri's brilliant novelty "The Dazzler" a playful, inventive finger-buster. Jim closed his first set with a waltz medley-Victor Young's "Beautiful Love" and stride pianist James P. Johnson's wonderful "Old Fashioned Love."
Alex Hassan, a defense department staffer who comes all the way from Virginia to appear at this festival, began with a name-that-composer medley. The tunes were "We're in the Money", "I Gotta Sing a Torch Song", "You're an Education", "Petting in the Park", "I'll String Along With You" and "Forty-Second Street." Whereupon the composer's name was revealed for those not in the know (Harry Warren). He followed with another medley, this time music from the one and two-reelers of the 1930s, all composed by M.K. Jerome.
Kathy Craig joined Alex for Joseph Lamb's "Cottontail" which I thought was one of the more marvelous ragtime duets I have ever heard. Kathy played the basic score, while Alex brilliantly improvised harmonies and counterpoints.
Kathy then soloed on another composition by one of the "Big Three" of classic ragtime, James Scott. She chose his light "Hilarity Rag," which she executed flawlessly. Next was her own "Romantic Rag," which won the ragtime contest in 1974 at the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia (MO). From there, she moved back to Joplin with "The Strenuous Life" and concluded with "Misery Rag," a marvelous takeoff on "Le Miserere" from the Italian opera "Il Trovatore."
Jim Turner opened the second half of the show with "Poor Butterfly," a Golden/ Hubbell song from 1916. Next was the difficult stride cutting contest piece, "Fingerbuster," by Willie "The Lion" Smith. Jim closed his second set with Eubie Blake's "Chevy Chase," in a duet with Kathy Craig.
Kathy continued solo, playing Lamb's "Ethiopia" and E. T. Paull's "Ben Hur Chariot Race March," which she told us was part of a series of elaborately illustrated sheet music covers.
Robbie Rhodes returned to play "Estelle," a novelty number; then "Triangle Jazz Blues" by Irvin P. LeClere, a piece in a class by itself. Alex returned to join Robbie on "Charlie My Boy", then played three of Robin Frost's very difficult to play but always fun to hear novelties-"What a Dream", "Whipped Cream" and "Lime Pudding".
As a finale, the four pianists were joined, as usual, by Bill Coffman at the mighty Wurlitzer organ on George Botsford's "Black and White Rag" and Joplin's "Pine Apple Rag" to well-deserved tumultuous applause by the large audience.
SCOTT JOPLIN FESTIVAL 2001
By Fred Hoeptner
The sight of flooded fields marred an otherwise uneventful drive from the Kansas City airport to Sedalia. That and reports of intense rainfall earlier in the week had generated concern for the festival. Fortunately, the weather gods smiled and delightful if sometimes steamy weather in the 80s with fleecy white clouds prevailed, except for a brief downpour Sunday morning.
Musical Director this year was Scott Kirby, organizer par excellence. Scott and Jeannie Wright, longtime member of the foundation board and festival manager, had begun planning the concerts months before, and the preparation showed. The concerts proceeded without a hitch. In addition, as usual continuous free events were also available at four sites scattered around downtown Sedalia.
Thursday morning the festival officially opened with the "stroll" from Liberty Center to Maple Leaf Park, site of the former Maple Leaf Club. Led by Bob Ault dressed in 1897 full dress with top hat and playing the accordion, the parade included flivvers, large-wheeled bicycles, and costumed strollers. From a roadster stepped Mayor Jane Gray, who proceeded to the stage and welcomed visitors. Following introduction of political notables, Mimi Blais started the musical festivities with this year's theme rag "The Easy Winners".
The "Kickoff Concert" in Liberty Center Auditorium followed with the theme "a tribute to David Thomas Roberts". Brian Keenan started with three of Roberts' compositions, "Forest County", "The Child", and "Madison Heights Girl". Host Scott Kirby described his initial encounter many years ago with Roberts who was playing in a noisy, smoky, New Orleans bar with none of the patrons paying much attention to the music. Scott was enthralled by Roberts' performance of his composition "Roberto Clemente". Kirby and Morten Larsen then duetted on this very piece and on "Kreole." Larsen then described a very similar meeting in 1977. He followed with the dramatic pieces "For Mollie Kaufman" and "La Donna". Roberts himself played "Memories of a Missouri Confederate" and "Washington County Breakdown" and duetted with Brian Keenan on "Lily Langtree Comes to the Midwest". Roberts then credited Larsen with influencing him to de-emphasize folkish content in his compositions and to emphasize lyricism and romanticism and demonstrated with "Through the Bottomlands" and "Mississippi Brown Eyes". A standing ovation followed. Plaudits are due to Jeannie Wright for conceiving this memorable concert.
The afternoon "Cradle of Ragtime" concert, hosted by Jan Douglas, curator of St. Louis' Scott Joplin House, focused on the Missouri roots of ragtime. John Petley, late of Britain but now a U.S. citizen, played some rollicking folk rags by Brun Campbell from the early 1900s and by Tom Shea from the 1960s. Douglas followed with a sensitive rendition of Clarence Woods' "Slippery Elm". Brian Keenan returned to folk ragtime with tunes by Brun Campbell, Bob Ault, and Trebor Tichenor. Australian John Gill played rags by Arthur Marshall and James Scott, and Gale Foehner followed with folk rags, one his own "Carondelet". The concert was topped by the "Tichenor dynasty", pianists Trebor Tichenor and his daughter Virginia, with Virginia's husband Marty Eggers on bass and piano in various combinations, stomping through five Missouri folk rags.
The Thursday evening "Ragtime Dance" returned to the exhibit hall at the fairgrounds after two years in a smaller venue. Dance master Jim Borzym and partner Susan Frontczak led the festivities and demonstrated elegant dance styles of the early 1900s to the music of the incomparable Ophelia Ragtime Orchestra from Norway led by Morten Larsen. The strains of "Creole Bells" accompanied the cakewalk contest, the three winning couples all receiving decorated cakes.
The symposium sessions began Friday morning, held as usual in the comfortable United Methodist Church. Professor Tony Caramia of the Eastman School of Music analyzed the ragtime resources available to piano teachers for students at various levels from elementary to advanced. Author Ed Berlin reported his recent discoveries of early appearances in print of the word "rag". His research into African-American newspapers revealed its use in 1893 referring to a ball, and in 1895 to an old-time country dance. A December 8, 1894, newspaper article complained, "Kansas City girls can't play anything on the piano except rags." He finished with a plea for more research into Black newspapers. Ragtime authority and author Trebor Tichenor presented readings from John Stark's monthly magazine "Intermezzo", published in 1905 and 1906 and containing musical scores and general articles on musical subjects as well as Stark's typical hyperbolic praise of ragtime. An article in his first edition explained "What Ragtime Is", and chided ragtime's critics for mistaking "the coon song and the cake walk for the real thing".
Friday afternoon's "Tribute to Scott Joplin" concert featured a spectrum of diverse interpretations of Joplin. These ranged from fairly literal (Scott Kirby, Roy Eaton, and Philip Dyson), to significantly embellished (Tony Caramia and John Arpin). Of special note was the amazing whistling performance of "Bethena" by Sedalian Mary Francis Herndon, recently inducted into the Whistler's Hall of Fame, which brought down the house.
The Friday night "Easy Winners" concert at "Joplin Hall", a converted part of the exhibit hall at the Fairgrounds, was hosted by Tony Caramia and featured John Gill, Mimi Blais, David Thomas Roberts, and Brian Holland, each playing four or five of their specialties. Gill remarked, "too much music, too little time" and took it literally, speeding through Maple Leaf Rag and several others with technical precision prompting Tony Caramia to comment afterward, "Is there a fire extinguisher in the house?" Roberts played his famed "Roberto Clemente". After intermission, the Ophelia Ragtime Orchestra of Norway played a full program of twelve selections, some enhanced superlatively by vocalist and dancer Ståle Ytterle, followed by a standing ovation and an encore.
Saturday's symposia began with Nan Bostick's segment on the craze for "Indian intermezzos" in the first decade of the 1900s. It began with the tune "Hiawatha" composed by her uncle, Charles N. Daniels, whose biography she is writing. Terry Parrish then surveyed May Aufderheide's life and music. Roy Eaton, man of many talents who emphasizes the spiritual aspects of music, spoke on "Joplin's Classical Roots". He surmised the classical pieces which Joplin's teacher Julius Weiss, a graduate of the University of Saxony, would have taught him based on the pedagogical practices of the time and showed how they appear to have influenced Joplin's compositions. Meanwhile, Tony Caramia hosted a student concert at Maple Leaf Park featuring four promising young ragtime performers: Neil Blaze, Elise Crane, Marit Johnson, and Emily Sprague.
Tony Caramia introduced the Saturday afternoon "Ragtime Revelations" concert, to focus on "new trends, new treatments of old ideas, and new talents". Reginald Robinson opened with two of his newest compositions. "Mose", written for his father, is tuneful and much more in the classic ragtime mold than most of Reggie's output. Sue Keller followed with sensitive performances of Galen Wilkes' "Last of the Ragtime Pioneers" and David Thomas Roberts' seldom heard "Muscatine". Nick Taylor played Kathy Craig's "Romantic Rag". Jan Douglas followed with Hal Isbitz's "Opalescence" and a Robin Frost novelty piece "What a Relief!". Then Nora Hulse announced the results of the ragtime composition contest. The Joplin Foundation had received 16 entries and passed twelve on to judges Dr. Wesley True, Head of the Music Department, Central Missouri State University; Dr. Nora Hulse, retired Associate Professor of Keyboard Studies at Central Methodist College and ragtime pianist; and Bill Long, music instructor and former board president. The judges independently rated each composition in order of preference, and the composition with the lowest total was declared the winner. Nora Hulse played the third-place winner, "Valedictory Rag" by John Brown of England. Second-place winner Hoyle Osborn of Aztec, New Mexico, a professional pianist, played his own composition "Trickster", which he described as depicting the coyote, the agent of chaos in American Indian legend. Tamás Ittzés of Hungary garnered first with his "Sedalia Rag", which Tony Caramia performed. Tony then played a very dissonant 2001 composition, "Rio Rag," by Brian Dykstra of the College of Wooster in Ohio. Next, he introduced 12-year-old Emily Sprague of Missouri, who played Eubie Blake's "Chevy Chase" with all the dynamics and assurance of an adult professional. Jeannie Wright presented a deserving Emily with the Scott Joplin Scholarship Award. Brian Keenan played his folk rag "Big Creek". Terry Parrish followed with two of his novelty rags. Finally, Tony Caramia and Emily Sprague duetted on Joplin's "Elite Syncopations" to standing applause.
Scott Kirby hosted the evening "Entertainer Concert" at Joplin Hall. The first half featured Reginald Robinson, Philip Dyson, and John Arpin each playing a set of four or five tunes. Notable were Reginald Robinson's new composition in 6/8 time, "The Daredevil Gallop" and John Arpin's Eubie Blake medley. After intermission the trio Bo Grumpus played a set of pop and ragtime tunes from the century's first two decades in their own unique manner.
Late Saturday night The Ragtime Music Hall capped the festival with the expected high jinks. The scene was "Le Chat Noir" or "The Black Cat", a cabaret where proprietress (or perhaps madam) Mimi Blais, bedecked in feathered black underwear and cape, greeted customers, who also turned out to be entertainers. "Mademoiselle Susette", Sue Keller, in an elegant fringy blue outfit, abetted the festivities. Other performers were John Gill, Brian Holland, Bo Grumpus, and John Arpin. As a finale, Mimi and John Gill on one piano, Sue and Brian on another, and Bo Grumpus played the "Easy Winners". Pete Devine, percussionist with Bo Grumpus, slowly lay down while playing, and the tempo became slower and slower until all fell asleep. Scott Kirby appeared, broom and disinfectant spray in hand, and began to sweep clean. Finding some stray feathers on the floor, he ad-libbed the funniest line of the evening: "She molts, you know".
The festival wound down with the usual Sunday ragtime brunch at Best Western Motel and the Summer Breeze Concert at Liberty Park. I asked Jeannie Wright for comments on the festival. She agreed that attendance at the paid events was down this year. Consensus of the board attributed that to the weak economy. However, the free events in the tents were all crowded. Perhaps one-third of the attendees were first-timers. We both agreed that the 2001 festival had been a rousing success.
THAT'S RAGTIME, BY GEORGE!!(;by George McClellan, that is!!
A Real High Class Rag; Excitation; Exhilaration; Exhaustion; TGIF; Khartoum Rag; Innominate Rag; Fifi; Crazylegs; Cleopatra Asp;Ol' Bighand's Rag; Ragtime Ricksha; Tin Lizzy; Willow Tree Rag; White Pass; Creek Street; Somnambulation Rag
George McClellan, a regular at the Rose Leaf Club meetings, not only plays fine piano, but also composes ragtime, stride, and novelty pieces on the computer. His stuff is catchy and fun to play, but not always easy. However, computers are functionally superhuman, and can negotiate the trickiest of fingering with digits of another order. They are able to come across as convincing player pianos and perform their programmed notes quite flawlessly. Recently George crafted a CD of some of his compositions in limited edition, and it can be purchased directly from him.
George has written the accompanying program notes, with explanations of the titles and/or comments on the music itself. His sense of humor asserts itself throughout his words and music. For example, "Khartoum Rag" and "Cleopatra's Asp" have a playful Egyptian flavor, and "Ragtime Ricksha" offers some Oriental hokum. "Excitation," "Exhilaration," and "Exhaustion" he cleverly calls "The Ex Files Trilogy." "Innominate Rag" is fast and busy. In fact I would nominate it as "The Ragtime Busybody," or maybe "Quidnunc Rag" (Curious? See your dictionary.)
This CD offers a variety of moods and tempos and your editor recommends it to Something Doing subscribers. To order,
Try <http://www.cdbaby.com/oldgeorge>
PETE CLUTE (1933-2001)
The ragtime and trad jazz communities lost one of their veteran performers with the sudden death from a heart attack of Pete Clute on May 26 in San Jose. Pete was a student of the great Wally Rose, and replaced Rose permanently in the Turk Murphy band in 1957. He remained with Murphy as pianist and business partner in their San Francisco club, Earthquake McGoons, until 1983. He had been active since then in the Natural Gas Jazz Band and later formed a duo with banjoist Carl Lunsford. Clute and Lunsford were scheduled to appear at the Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival in August.
I met Pete in 1954, and he was generous in lending me some of his rare ragtime sheet music (almost no classic ragtime remained in print at that time) so that I could make copies and learn some great rags. Over the years I heard him several times with Murphy's band in San Francisco, and occasionally we had a chance to chat. He was on more than 20 LPs. In later years he began composing some stride pieces and band scores. The third annual Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival (Aug. 10-12) will be dedicated to him. He will be missed.
RAGTIME WEBSITES
For those of you on the Internet, you can find a list of informative ragtime websites by visiting the Rose Leaf Ragtime Club's webpage at https://roseleafrag.tripod.com/links.html
For back issues of Something Doing, you can access the archives at https://roseleafrag.tripod.com/archive.html
RAGTIME RADIO
Mondays, 9-10 p.m. The Ragtime Machine, KUSF-FM 90.3, San Francisco. Host: David Refkin. Also on the Net at KUSF.ORG
Sundays, 8-10 p.m. KSBR-FM 88.5, Mission Viejo. Host: Jeff Stone. Also on the 'Net at KSBR.ORG
CONTINUING GIGS AND UPCOMING EVENTS
Brad Kay Sunday afternoons, 2-4 p.m. at The Unurban, 3301 W. Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica. Coffee, etc. No cover charge
Jerry Rothschild Tues. and Wed., 4:30-7:00 p.m. at Gunter's Place, 16258 Whittier Blvd., Whittier. (562) 947-3683
Fri. and Sat., 7-10 p.m. at Curley's Restaurant, corner Willow & Cherry, Signal Hill.
Third Annual Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival, with Elliott Adams & The Porcupine Ragtime Ensemble, Alan Ashby, Tom Brier, Bo Grumpus, Marty Eggers, Nan Bostick, Pete Clute, Stevens Price, "Ah, Sweet Sue" Price & the Ragtime Melodramatics, John Remmers, Keith Taylor, Virginia Tichenor, and More. August 10-12, Fri. thru Sun. For information on badges, lodging, etc., phone (209) 223-0867, or access the website <www/ragtimemusic.com/scrf>
Jeannie Ingram Sunday evening, Aug. 12, 7:00 p.m. Piano oldies and favorites, plus ragtime duets with Bill Coffman at the Mighty Wurlitzer. Old Town Music Hall, 140 Richmond St., El Segundo. Admission $20. Phone 310-322-2592. E-mail: oldtownmh@aol.com.
Crazy Rhythm Hot Society Orchestra. Aug. 26, 7:00 p.m. Orchestrations of Ellington, Whiteman, Dorsey, etc.
Old Town Music Hall. (See above)
Mews and the Small Band Sept. 16, 7:00 p.m. Mesmerizing and evocative ballads. Old Favorites and turn-of-the-century. Old Town Music Hall. (See above)
Dick Zimmerman Sept. 23, 7:00 p.m. The king of ragtime, with guest vocalist Tracy Doyle. Old Town Music Hall. (See above)
RagFest 2001 - Orange County's second annual ragtime festival. Sat.-Sun., Oct. 6-7. Steamers Café and Fullerton College Recital Hall, Fullerton. Featuring Tex Wyndham, the Albany Nightboat Ragtimers, Patrick Aranda, Tom Brier, Brad Kay, Eric Marchese, Bill Mitchell, Bob Pinsker. Guest artists Terence Alaric, Bill Protzmann, Randy Woltz, and more. $60 for all events; tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis for individual performances. Phone (800) 690-6684 or access the website <ragfest.com>
Fifteenth Annual West Coast Ragtime Festival, Nov. 16-18, Fri. thru Sun. Red Lion Hotel, 1401 Arden Way, Sacramento. Stellar lineup, more details in upcoming issues, but for more information now, call (916) 457-3324 or www.RagtimeMusic.com/wcrs/ or e-mail bubpetra@yah
Bill Mitchell, Editor (714) 528-1534 Fax (714) 223-3886 E-mail<jopscolam@home.com>