remmers
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response 251 of 256:
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Jan 3 17:58 UTC 2002 |
Thanks for the reference, Ken. I didn't know about that one.
Looking it up on the web, I found this review:
Guitarist Craig Ventresco may be one of the best ragtime
pickers alive today. He was heard fingerpicking on the
Crumb soundtrack, but with "The Past Is Yet to Come,"
we get an entire disc of his dizzying guitar solos. The
results are stunning. Ventresco's ability to perform rags
by Big Bill Broonzy, Eubie Blake, and Scott Joplin is
awe-inspiring; his dense arrangements sound impossibly
difficult to play, but they are a sheer pleasure to
hear...his energized playing breathes new life into
the works. Ventresco's a real talent and ragtime lovers
couldn't ask for a finer disc of guitar music. It may
be sacrilegious to admit, but Ventresco's technical
ability is right up there with Blind Lemon Jefferson and
Blind Blake -- the only things missing are the pops and
hisses of the 78s. An incredible disc. --Jason Verlinde,
Amazon.com
Clearly I shall have to acquire this CD.
I've been a little slow posting reports on my recent activities --
West Coast Ragtime Festival in Sacramento, CA and the Holiday
Ragtime Bash in Ann Arbor. Hopefully this weekend...
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remmers
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response 253 of 256:
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Feb 22 16:33 UTC 2002 |
Ragtime pianist and composer Scott Kirby will be appearing in
Ann Arbor this Saturday, February 23, 8pm at the Kerrytown
Concert House.
In addition to being one of the best ragtime pianists around,
Kirby is a prolific composer and arguably the finest interpreter
of Scott Joplin's music today. Having been one of his master
class pupils at the Ragtime Institute in Boulder, Colorado, I
can attest that he is also a superb teacher. In addition to
performing, Kirby is one of the organizers of the annual
Rocky Mountain Ragtime Festival and for the past two years
has been music director of the Scott Joplin Festival in
Sedalia, Missouri.
The concert is billed as "a look at the evolution of ragtime."
I imagine that he will be performing and commenting on early
ragtime as well as contemporary works by such composers as
David Thomas Roberts, Frank French, and himself.
This is a rare opportunity for people in the Ann Arbor area
to hear and hear about ragtime by one of the contemporary
masters of the genre. If you think of ragtime as simply
non-serious, honky-tonk style music, Kirby's persentation
may well change your point of view.
Tickets are $10, $15, and $25. Call the Kerrytown Concert
House at (734)769-2999 for reservations.
(I would have posted an announcement earlier but only
found out about the concert yesterday.)
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remmers
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response 254 of 256:
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Jul 13 19:17 UTC 2002 |
Hm, I've been neglecting this item lately. Not for lack of activity.
I'll summarize the year's activities so far:
Scott Kirby's KCH concert was nearly sold out and a great success.
Selections were his typical eclectic blend of classical ragtime,
contemporary ragtime, Latin American syncopated music, with a
generous helping of his own compositions. A lot of stuff that isn't
often performed in Ann Arbor. Audience response was enthusiastic.
This was his first Ann Arbor appearance.
I know Scott from various ragtime festivals. He'd forgotten that
I live in Ann Arbor and was surprised to see me there. He told me
afterwards that this was one of his more gratifying performance
experiences, and that he'd like to make Ann Arbor appearances a
regular part of his concertizing. Hopefully that will happen.
This past spring I attended Zhender's Ragtime Festival in
Frankenmuth, MI, the Scott Joplin Festival in Sedalia, MO, and the
Blind Boone Festival in Columbia, MO. I go to the first two every
year, but the last was a new experience. The Blind Boone Festival
is held right after the Joplin Festival, and Columbia is not far
from Sedalia, so I decided to stop off and take in one day of it
on my way home.
I'm glad I did. Heard a couple of excellent performers I'd
not encountered before. Bob Milne gave a fascinating lecture on
connections between pool playing and piano playing, how he's applied
things he learned from the former to the latter. (I hadn't known
that in addition to being a professional musician, Bob was a pool
hall hustler back in the 1960s, a sideline he got into while he was a
french horn student at the Eastman School of Music.) His props were
a pool table and an upright piano. He showed us that he's still in
good pool-playing form by demonstrating a number of tricky shots.
That evening, the incomparable Morton Gunnar Larsen of Norway
gave a solo concert, playing classical and contemporary ragtime,
some Gottschalk, and a smattering of other things. The man has
dazzling piano technique, especially evident in his performances
of Jelly Roll Morton and Zez Confrey pieces. Larsen is another
performer whom I'd really like to see make it to Ann Arbor someday,
hopefully with his incomparable Ophelia Ragtime Orchestra in tow.
This past spring I decided to try my hand at competition and entered
the World Championship Old Time Piano Playing Contest, held in
Peoria, Illinois over the Memorial Day weekend. It's an annual event
that started in 1975. To compete, I had to prepare six pieces, with
two being played in each of three rounds -- elimination, semifinals
(top 10 contestants), and finals (top 5 contestants). Period costume
required (see mine at http://jremmers.org/oldtime.jpg). I was really
nervous, first of all because I was a freshman contestant and most of
the contestants were contest veterans, secondly because I was being
judged, thirdly because the venue was a cavernous hotel ballroom
with an audience of several hundred people (and seating capacity of
probably a thousand). As it turned out, things went well. I was
the only freshman contestant to make the semifinals, and I finished
in 7th place. And now I have a much better idea what to expect and
how to prepare when I try the contest again. (For information on
the contest and to see the final rankings, visit
http://www.oldtimepiano.com)
Next week I'm off to the Rocky Mountain Ragtime Festival in
Boulder, CO. I expect the music will be good; not so sure about
the air quality.
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remmers
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response 256 of 256:
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Dec 7 17:25 UTC 2002 |
For folks in or near Ann Arbor: The annual Holiday Ragtime Bash
at the Unitarian Church is this Sunday, December 8, at 7:30 PM.
Although I hadn't originally expected to, last-minute developments
make it appear that I *will* be performing again this year.
I don't know what or how much I'll be playing yet -- stil have
to confer with the concert dirctor about that.
Other performers are Bob Milne, Terry Parrish and the Elite
Syncopaters, and Kent Eschelman.
The Unitarian Church is located south of Ann Arbor at 4001
Ann Arbor-Saline Road (corner of Ellsworth Road). Admission is
$15, $12 for students and seniors. Tickets available at the
door, or in advance at Nicolas' Books. Seating is first-come-
first-served, and for a good seat it's advisable to get there
early, like around 7:00.
This year's concert is the 30th in this long-time Ann Arbor
annual tradition.
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