The Rose Leaf Ragtime Club

Name: The Rose Leaf Ragtime Club
Address: 1400 Huntington Drive, South Pasadena, CA, 91030, US
Telephone: +18184399048

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The Rose Leaf Ragtime Club

Dedicated to the preservation of ragtime, America's syncopated musical heritage. The Club hosts open piano meetings on the last Sunday of the month.

03/03/2024

HEAR VINCENT JOHNSON AT THE ROSE LEAF RAGTIME CLUB

By Fred Hoeptner

When you attend a Rose Leaf Ragtime Club meeting, unless he has a paying gig elsewhere you will likely hear pianist Vincent Johnson. Enhancing his performance with subtle embellishments and sensitive dynamics, he is one of today’s premier ragtime pianists. It was August, 2005 when Vincent, then age 13, summoned the courage to walk with a friend several miles from his home in Sierra Madre to his first visit at the club which was then meeting at the Pasadena IHOP. Although at first he didn’t play classic ragtime, his bent for syncopation, blues, and early jazz styling was noted in the meeting reports.

Over the years since, Vincent’s progress can only be described as phenomenal. An interest in the intricate ragtime successor style known as “novelty piano” came first, then classic ragtime. Although he has taken several years of classical piano lessons to learn principles of technique and attended classes on music theory, most of his advancement has been attained on his own.

Vincent soon began attracting attention as a composer. The current (February, 2024) issue of Syncopated Times features an article by Joe Bebco about the Rivermont CD “Invincible Syncopations, the New Ragtime Music of Vincent Matthew Johnson” played by Canadian pianist Max Keenlyside. Bebco comments how unusual it is today for a living ragtime composer to be considered worthy of an album-length tribute from a living
ragtime pianist. Further, recently professional classical pianist Jacob Adams posted on his website, “I need not say how wonderful Vincent Johnson’s rags are, but I’ll say it anyway; he has to be one of the top ragtime composers around today. His rag ‘Blue-Berry Pancakes’ . . . is as delicious as its title!” Having been a ragtime enthusiast and occasional composer myself since about 1960, I feel fully qualified to agree with Bebco and Adams.
Vincent’s composition “Storybook Rag” has entranced me since I first heard it some years ago.

You can hear Vincent perform at most Rose Leaf Ragtime Club meetings for the price of a donation. You can also usually hear regular performer John Reed-Torres who composes in a perhaps more vigorous traditional ragtime mode. See you there!

02/25/2024

The Rose Leaf Ragtime Club huddled together for its monthly meeting on February 11, 2024 at the Barkley Restaurant and Bar in South Pasadena - a day that coincided with the NFL Super Bowl. As such, the meeting was cut a little short, but much syncopation was heard from our local roster of pianists and washboardists.

Alhambra’s Vincent Johnson got the meeting kicked off with the obligatory performance of Scott Joplin’s "Rose Leaf Rag" (1907) and continued with representative selections from the other two classic ragtime greats: Joseph Lamb’s "Patricia Rag" (1916) and James Scott’s "Grace and Beauty" (1909).

Ron Ross, accompanied by Aynn Freeman on washboard, rendered a trio of his own compositions: the recent "That Itchin’ Rag" (2022) and two numbers from his 2001 album, “Ragtime Renaissance” - "Obadiah’s Jumpsuit" and "Retro Rag".

Vincent Johnson returned to the piano and was accompanied by Aynn Freeman on washboard for Scott Joplin & Scott Hayden’s "Sunflower Slow Drag" (1901), Artie Matthews’ "Pastime Rag No. 4" (1920), and Scott Joplin’s "The Entertainer" (1902), which rose to #3 the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 following its use in the movie The Sting.

With Vincent Johnson still at the keyboard, Aynn Freeman traded thimbles with Blue LoLãn, who made her washboard debut at the Rose Leaf club for a trio of jazzy rags: "Carolina Shout" (1921) by James P. Johnson, "Wild Flower Rag" (1916) by Clarence Williams, and Vincent’s own "Shih-Tzu Blues - Oh! You Lion Dog" (2017).

Ron Ross came back to the piano and soloed on two more of his lovely compositions, "Nostalgia" and the Spanish-tinged "West Coast Tango" (2008).

Vincent Johnson had a handful of other solos for us, including Willie “The Lion” Smith’s lovely "Echo of Spring" (1935), Zez Confrey’s "Kitten on the Keys" (1921), Joseph Lamb’s "Cleopatra Rag" (1915), Luckey Roberts’ "Pork and Beans" (1913), and an original composition, "Storybook Rag" (2010).

At around this time, pianistic reinforcements arrived in the form of the club’s Chief Transportation Officer John Reed-Torres; our club’s youngest and newest member, Leo Gonzalez; and Southern California renowned ragtime composer-pianist historian, Galen Wilkes.

John treated us to a pair of Scott Joplin rags - "Maple Leaf Rag" (1899) and "Pine Apple Rag" (1908) - and one of his own originals, "Sunshine Cakewalk" (2015).

In a similar fashion, Galen Wilkes presented rarely heard early blues numbers - "The Original Chicago Blues" (1915) by James S. “Slap” White and "The Weary Blues" (1915) by Artie Matthews - and one of his own originals, "Stompin’ the Blues" (2022).

Leo Gonzalez had three more Joplin rags up his sleeve: the collaborative "Swipesy Cakewalk" (1900, with Arthur Marshall), the late "Magnetic Rag" (1914), and the folksy and sentimental "Weeping Willow" (1903).

Time permitted a few encores - John Reed-Torres played the fully appropriate "Rapid Transit Rag" by Joseph Lamb (1959, probably written pre-1910), Galen Wilkes played the James Scott song rarity "She’s My Gal from Anaconda" (1909), and Vincent Johnson sent us home with Thomas “Fats” Waller’s "Alligator Crawl" (1934). Until next month!

02/04/2024

The Rose Leaf Ragtime Club will have its next meeting on Sunday, February 11, at the Barkley Restaurant, 1400 Huntington drive, South Pasadena, from 1 to 4 pm.
All are welcome. Non-performers are asked to make a $5.00 donation to the club

Food and beverages, including a full bar, are available-cash only. There is an ATM on the premises

The Rose Leaf Ragtime Club convened at the Barkley Restaurant and Bar for its first meeting of 2024 on January 14. With only two pianists on hand, the meeting was a de facto informal recital featuring club members Vincent Johnson and John Reed-Torres. Vincent Johnson commenced the meeting in the traditional fashion with none other than Scott Joplin’s “Rose Leaf Rag” (1907). Using the theme of the “big three” composers of Classic Ragtime, he continued with James Scott’s “Grace and Beauty Rag” (1909) and Joseph Lamb’s “Patricia Rag” (1916).He transitioned to proto-jazz rags written by 1910s pioneers of the stride piano style by playing “Wild Flower Rag” (1916) by Clarence Williams, “Pork and Beans” (1913) by C. Luckyth Roberts, and “The Baltimore Todalo” (p. 1971, c. 1910s) by Eubie Blake. He continued with Zez Confrey’s immortal novelty rag “Kitten on the Keys” (1921) and Jelly Roll Morton’s “The Pearls” (1923). For these numbers, he was accompanied by Aynn Freeman on washboard.

To provide a relaxing contrast, he programmed Willie “The Lion” Smith’s “Echo of Spring” (1935). Then, noting that he has recently been posting rags by pioneer ragtimers Charles L. Johnson and Theron C. Bennett to Facebook and YouTube, Vincent provided a sampling of such postings. Theron C. Bennett’s “St. Louis Tickle” (1903) was written under the pseudonyms “Barney & Seymore” and features the notorious “funky butt” strain later featured in Jelly Roll Morton’s “Buddy Bolden’s Blues”. Then, switching over to the ragtime waltz form, Vincent performed Charles L. Johnson’s “Tobasco – A Rag Time Waltz” (1909). Two other Charles L. Johnson rarities followed: “Monkey Biznez – A Piano Novelty” (1928) and “Fine and Dandy” (1908). Theron C. Bennett’s “Sweet Pickles – Characteristic Two Step” (1907) was also published under a pseudonym; this time Bennett selected “George E. Florence” as his nom de plume. Vincent turned his attention back to classic ragtime for a trio of performances: “Sunflower Slow Drag” by Scott Joplin and Scott Hayden (1901), “Top Liner Rag” by Joseph Lamb (1916), and “The Entertainer” (1902). In honor of long-time club member and award-winning composer Fred Hoeptner’s landmark birthday, Vincent played Hoeptner’s “Dalliance – A Ragtime Frolic” (1999).

At this point, halfway through the scheduled meeting, John Reed-Torres walked in the door – still clad in his bus driving uniform, having just gotten off his Sunday shift. Fittingly, he opened with Annie Houston’s “Motor Bus Rag” (1914), a great and rare Texas folk rag. Club member Hal Leavens requested Arthur Marshall’s “Little Jack’s Rag”, but John mentioned that one was no longer under his fingers and substituted Marshall’s “Ham And!” (1908), which was dedicated to Scott Joplin. He followed that with Joseph Lamb’s early masterpiece from the following year, “Ethiopia Rag” (1909), before giving us a pair of Joplin classics: “Sugar Cane” (1907) and “Pine Apple Rag” (1908). Fred Hoeptner requested one of John’s originals, “On the Rocks” (2017) which was dedicated to Chip Lusby of Sutter Creek. John’s next number took things back over a century with James Scott’s “Dixie Dimples” (1918). John continued with another pair of Joplin masterpieces: “Gladiolus Rag” (1908) and “Maple Leaf Rag” (1899) with a performance of Floyd Willis’ “The Queen Rag” (1911) sandwiched in the middle of them.

John treated us to another of his delightfully vintage sounding originals with “Sunshine Cakewalk” (2015), which demonstrates some terrific low bass octaves in the closing strain. Joplin’s high class “Fig Leaf Rag” (1908) is a tricky and beautiful number that sounds effortless under John’s fingers. He then gave us our first “lady rag” of the afternoon – May Aufderheide’s “The Thriller” (1909). John had one final pair of early Joplin rags for us: the collaborative “Swipesy Cakewalk” (with Arthur Marshall, 1900) and “Peacherine Rag” (1901). He then played James Scott’s “New Era Rag” (1919), a funky and expansive pianistic rag from late in the ragtime era. Vincent Johnson requested “Rag Medley No. 2 – Strains from the Flat Branch” (1909) by John W. “Blind” Boone. John closed his set with his own original composition from a dozen years ago, “Belle of Los Angeles” (2012).

Vincent Johnson brought the meeting to the close, taking a pair of requests for his original compositions “Milk and Honey” (2014) and “Storybook Rag” (2010), before sending us home with James P. Johnson’s stride piano classic “Carolina Shout” (1921).

Ron Ross-Public Relations

01/10/2024

ROSE LEAF RAGTIME CLUB MEETS SUNDAY, JANUARY 14, 2024

The Rose Leaf Ragtime Club meets on the second Sunday of every month. On Sunday, January 14, we'll convene from 1:00 to 4:00 PM at the Barkley Restaurant and Bar at 1400 Huntington Drive, South Pasadena. Great food and drink - CASH ONLY, but they do have an ATM. Piano players, other musicians, and listeners are always welcome. A donation to the club of $5.00 is requested of attendees, except for players, who are not asked to donate.

Some of you may wonder what we use the $5 donation for, since at present, we do not own and maintain a piano. You be assured that it goes into a separate bank account to be used for ragtime related purposes. In November, we donated $500 to the West Coast Ragtime Society for its festival.

Through his participation at the Rose Leaf Ragtime Club, Leonardo Gonzalez learned about the West Coast Ragtime Society's annual Youth Program. He applied for and was accepted to be included in the "Spotlighting Ragtime Youth" 2023 virtual concert. His performance, playing "Swipesy Cakewalk", a spirited and thoroughly professional performance, is still available on YouTube.

The Rose Leaf Ragtime Club last convened on December 10, 2023. Performers were Ron Ross, Galen Wilkes, Pedro Bernardez, John Reed-Tores, and Max Libertor. Vincent Johnson, our regular major contributor to the musical proceedings was ill and could not attend. This was a double loss in that he usually writes up the meetings, telling us who played what. He tells me he'll be back at the January meeting.

Ron Ross,

Publicity Director
Rose Leaf Ragtime Club

12/06/2023

THE CLUB will meet on the 2nd Sunday of DECEMBER, THE 10TH from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM, AT THE Barkley Restaurant and Bar—1400 Huntington Dr—South PASADENA
There is food and drink available, but it is CASH ONLY. There is an ATM in the restaurant.

Rose Leaf Club attendees who are not performers are asked to contribute $5 per meeting to the treasury. Some of you may wonder what we are using it for since at present we do not own and maintain a piano. You can be assured that it goes into a separate bank account to be used for ragtime related purposes. Last month we donated $500 to the West Coast Ragtime Society for its festival.

Through his participation at the Rose Leaf Club, Leonardo Gonzalez learned about the West Coast Ragtime Society's annual Youth Program. He applied for and was accepted to be included in the "Spotlighting Ragtime Youth" 2023 virtual concert. His performance playing "Swipesy Cakewalk," a spirited and thoroughly professional performance, is still available on You Tube.

The Rose Leaf Ragtime Club convened its November meeting at the Barkley Restaurant & Bar in South Pasadena on November 11, 2023. Longtime club member Vincent Johnson commenced the proceedings with Scott Joplin’s Rose Leaf Rag as part of a musical quintet of Joplin compositions. Next up was the collaborative Sunflower Slow Drag, which Joplin composed with Scott Hayden in 1901. Two lesser played Joplin rags followed: Paragon Rag from 1909 and The Strenuous Life from 1902. The musical bouquet was rounded out with Joplin’s lovely Gladiolus Rag from 1907.

The Club publicity director Ron Ross contributed his latest composition That Itchin’ Rag as a musical interlude as Andrew Barrett walked in the door.

Noting that he was on the way to a gig and on a time crunch, the club called Andrew up to the stage immediately to deliver as many numbers as he could muster. Andrew began with a rousing and unsyncopated John Phillip Sousa March, The Gallant Seventh – a later composition from Sousa’s pen published in 1922. Andrew’s next selection, Deuces Wild, was written and composed around the same time period, but a much more forward-thinking and jazzy rag. It was published by Jack Mills in 1923, and remains one of the best-notated examples of the player piano style of musical arranging from the era. Andrew then treated us to his own delightful musical arrangements of three standards: The Sidewalks of New York (Lawlor & Blake, 1894), My Gal Sal (Paul Dresser, 1905), and How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm? (Donaldson, Young, and Lewis, 1919). Before leaving, Andrew served up one classic rag by James Scott, the immortal Ragtime Oriole from 1911.

Marilyn Martin made her way to the piano and gave us a sampling of the 20th century rock and pop hits she has been working on at the piano: California Girls, the Beach Boys’ classic; Nights in White Satin, a tune by Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues; Killing Me Softly with His Song, written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel and made famous by Roberta Flack and Lori Lieberman; I Just Called to Say I Love You, a Stevie Wonder creation; and You’ve Got Your Troubles, written by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cooke and made famous by the Fortunes.

As Vincent did for the music of Scott Joplin to begin the meeting, teenaged Max Libertor presented a musical quintet of pieces by Tom Brier – in many ways a modern Scott Joplin. Max’s set began with Reverie Rag, a slow and pretty number from 1991 and continued with Strollin’ from 2005, which is also slow and pretty, but has a swingy, jazzy character. Next up was Balderdash, a lively foxtrot on the black keys from 2001. Driftwood, from 2003, is meditative and quiet and a marked contrast with Brier’s bombastic showpiece, Razor Blades, the 1994 barnburner that closed Max’s set.

Vincent Johnson returned to the piano and played Artie Matthew’s Pastime Rag, No. 4, which is an experimental rag featuring crazy tone clusters and other musical special effects. He continued with Thomas “Fats” Waller’s stride piano opus, Alligator Crawl. He closed out his second set by one rag by each of the “big three” of classic ragtime: Sugar Cane Rag by Scott Joplin, Grace and Beauty by James Scott, and Top Liner Rag by Joseph Lamb.

Ron Ross returned to the piano to resume the set he began earlier in the meeting. He contributed a pair of original compositions: Joplinesque – A Gr**go Tango and Ragtime Song.

Marilyn Martin’s second set gave the club another dose of classic love songs from the mid-to-late 20th century. She began with a pair of Bee Gees hits: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? and Words. Her third selection was Jim Croce’s Time in a Bottle, issued in 1973 the day after Croce’s tragic early death. Marilyn closed her set with a medley of George Gershwin’s Summertime and Van Morrison’s Moondance.

Max Libertor returned to the keys and gave us another five solos – and variety was the name of the game for these five. His first, Black and White Rag has been one of the most iconic and best-selling rags since it was composed by George Botsford in 1908. From nearly a century later, Royal Oak Rag (2004) by Max Keenlyside & Jaime Cardenas, recalls the romping folk ragtime style of Brun Campbell. Clover Land Rag, written by Tom Brier at the dawn of this new millennium, is athletic and pretty, with cascading runs in all four themes. Zez Confrey’s Smart Alec is also filled with cascading runs but the music stylistically recalls the art deco “moderne” harmonies popular during the Depression years. Max’s final selection, Coyote Capers by Kylan deGhetaldi, perhaps owes some of its style to Zez Confrey, but it takes the imaginative novelty piano concepts a step further, including a psychedelic dirge like trio theme with gorgeous voicing.

Noting the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, Vincent Johnson served up Harry Belding’s Good Gravy Rag in his closing set, before continuing with Piano Puzzle and Echo of Spring to honor the November birthdays of composers Arthur Schutt and Willie “The Lion” Smith, respectively. He capped his set with Joseph Lamb’s American Beauty Rag from 1913.

Max Libertor brought the meeting to a close with Tom Brier’s introspective Evening Mist (2006) and a joyous rendering of Max Keenlyside’s Airplane to St. Louis (2011).

PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR
RON ROSS

11/08/2023

ROSE LEAF RAGTIME CLUB MEETS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12 2023

The Rose Leaf Ragtime Club meets on the second Sunday of every month.

On Sunday, November 12, 2023, we’ll convene from 1 to 4 pm at the Barkley Restaurant at 1400 Huntington Drive, South Pasadena. Great food and drink!

CASH ONLY but they do have ATM.

Piano players, other musicians and listeners are always welcome. A donation to the club of $5.00 is requested of attendees, except for players, who are not asked to donate.

Here's Vincent Johnson's terrific recap of our October meeting:

The October Meeting of the Rose Leaf Ragtime Club took place on October 8, 2023, at the Barkley Restaurant & Bar in South Pasadena. The gathering featured a talented lineup of ragtime enthusiasts and performers who delighted the audience with a variety of classic and contemporary piano compositions.

The event kicked off with Ron Ross, who began the proceedings with a captivating performance of his original composition, the "Acrosonic Rag," named in tribute to Baldwin's renowned line of home and studio pianos.

Vincent Johnson, himself a proud advocate of Baldwin pianos from Alhambra, followed with a set that included two masterpieces by Scott Joplin, the club's namesake "Rose Leaf Rag," and "Gladiolus Rag." He continued by offering a selection of stride and novelty piano stylings, which included "Spring Fever" by Rube Bloom, "Carolina Shout" by James P. Johnson, "Alligator Crawl" by Thomas Fats Waller, and "Kitten on the Keys" by Zez Confrey.

Ron Ross returned to the piano and delivered a full set of performances, including his original compositions "Retro Rag" and "Orange County Rag." He concluded his set with his own arrangement of Hal Isbitz's "Chandelier Rag."

Vincent Johnson later took his turn at the piano bench, presenting a set of "classic rags" from the era, including "Cleopatra Rag" by Joseph Lamb, "Grace and Beauty Rag" by James Scott, and "Sun Flower Slow Drag" by Scott Joplin and Scott Hayden. All these compositions were published by John Stark, a significant figure during the classic ragtime era. The set concluded with Scott Joplin's "Sugar Cane Rag," published by Ted Snyder's subsidiary publishing house, Seminary Music.

The club’s young resident expert on the music of Tom Brier, Max Libertor, graced the audience with a fantastic set that featured both contemporary and vintage piano rags. His performance included "Clover Land Rag" and "Rainy Day Blues" by Brier, along with a rendition of Scott Joplin's "Silver Swan Rag." Max completed his set with a virtuosic performance of C. Luckyth Roberts' "Junk Man Rag," one of the earliest examples of East Coast Harlem ragtime in sheet music form.

Vincent Johnson returned to the keys, delivering William Bolcom's widely performed "Graceful Ghost" and Joseph Lamb's tuneful "Patricia Rag." He later transitioned to stride and novelty piano stylings, including "Music Box Rag" by C. Luckyth Roberts, "Aunt Jemima's Birthday" by Rube Bloom, and "Grasshopper Dance" by Lothar Perl.

Max Libertor once again took the stage, presenting a rollicking version of Charles L. "Doc" Cooke's "Blame it on the Blues." He continued with two Tom Brier compositions, "Uncle Ben's Cakewalk" and the intricate novelty piano showpiece, "Spasmodic."

Thirteen-year-old Leo Gonzalez made a much-welcomed appearance, warming up with Beethoven's "Sechs Variations on 'Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento.’ " He then charmed the audience with two beautifully nuanced performances of Scott Joplin's "Weeping Willow" and "Harmony Club Waltz." Leo encored with a smooth, jazz-inspired rendition of John Barry's "Somewhere in Time" from the 1980 film of the same title.

Ron Ross returned to the piano for a final encore set, featuring a pair of original compositions, “Joplinesque - A Gr**go Tango," and "Moscow Rag."

Vincent Johnson followed suit with a trio of solos, including Joseph Lamb's late "Alaskan Rag," Arthur Schutt's novelty etude "Bluin' the Black Keys," and Roy Bargy's unpublished "Omeomy."

Max Libertor's encores marked the conclusion of the afternoon's performances, and they included Eric Plessow's "Humpty Dumpty," nestled between two Tom Brier compositions, "The Courtyard Waltzes" and the exhilarating "Razor Blades."
See less

10/03/2023

ROSE LEAF RAGTIME CLUB MEETS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8 2023

The Rose Leaf Ragtime Clubmeets on the second Sunday of every month. On Sunday, October 8, 2023, we’ll convene from 1 to 4 pm at the Barkley restaurant at 1400 Huntington Drive, South Pasadena. Great food and drink-CASH ONLY but they do have an ATM. Piano players, other musicians and listeners are always welcome. A donation to the club of $5.00 is requested of attendees, except for players, who are not asked to donate.

Here’s a recap of the SEPTEMBER meeting, thanks to Vincent Johnson:

If you weren't able to attend The Rose Leaf Ragtime Club's September 2023 meeting at the Barkley Restaurant and Bar, you missed one of the best gatherings since the Club reconvened post-pandemic. A remarkable nine pianists featured in the performance!

Vincent Johnson inaugurated the meeting with the traditional anthem, Scott Joplin’s Rose Leaf Rag (1907). He continued with two rags published by John Stark: Joseph F. Lamb’s masterpiece, American Beauty Rag (1913) and Artie Matthews’ experiment in crazy chords, Pastime Rag, No. 4 (1920). He wrapped up the opening set with Willie ‘The Lion’ Smith’s immortal and impressionistic Echo of Spring (1935).

Andrew Barrett challenged the audience to a game of name that tune, opening with a delightful raggy arrangement of Whispering (1920), a song written by California’s Schoenberger Brothers - Malvin & John – and made famous by Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra. Next up was a rollicking rendition of Charley Straight’s Red Raven Rag (1915), replete with piano roll style tricks characteristic of Charley Straight, who made countless rolls for Imperial, Rolla-Artis, and other piano roll labels during the 1910s. Vincent was the only one to correctly guess both titles, and Andrew continued with a medley of tunes by a decidedly less obscure pair of songwriting brothers: Embraceable You (1928) and I Got Rhythm (1930) by brothers George and Ira Gershwin.

The club was happy to welcome back longtime member Ed Maraga; he appeared at the club regularly for a number of years, but his regular employment (with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, as an operator for the B Line Subway) keeps him on a busy schedule that has prevented his regular attendance at the club for the past few years. This Sunday, Ed was on vacation and graced us with his presence and a performance of Joseph F. Lamb’s intricate and vivacious Excelsior Rag (1909). He continued with a rarely heard Joplin rag – the last one issued during the original ragtime era as a posthumous publication of the Stark Music Company – Reflection Rag – Syncopated Musings (1917). Unlike most Joplin rags, this one has five themes. Ed has long been synonymous with the music of Sanford Brunson “Brun” Campbell, and he treated us to Campbell’s Essay in Ragtime, which was first recorded in the 1940s but probably dates back to the late 1890s or early 1900s.

Club publicity director Ron Ross offered a pair of his lyrical original compositions: Joplinesque which bears the humorous subtitle “A Gr**go Tango” and Valley Ragtime Shuffle, which is a tribute to a sister ragtime club, the Valley Ragtime Stomp which meets in Woodland Hills on Saturday evenings once a month at Paoli’s Mediterranean Restaurant.

Marilyn Martin offered a medley of non-ragtime tunes from throughout the 20th century including I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder (1984), People Are Strange by Jim Morrison and Robbie Krieger of The Doors (1967), St. Louis Blues (1914) by W.C. Handy, Moondance (1970) by Van Morrison, Summertime (1934) by DuBose Heyward and George Gershwin, Stormy Monday by T-Bone Walker (1947) and recorded by countless artists in the decades to follow, and Habanera from Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” (1875).

Max Libertor used the opportunity to play One Four Brun (2015) in front of its composer Ed Maraga; the title refers the folk ragtime styling of Brun Campbell and his characteristic habit of modulating to the subdominant in his ragtime. Max continued with Joplin’s most experimental and innovative Euphonic Sounds (1909), which is noteworthy for largely eschewing the ragtime left hand bass patterns, while retaining the syncopated feel and phrasing of a Joplin rag. Max concluded his set with a debut performance of Kylan deGhetaldi’s Coyote Capers (2022), a daring novelty piano solo with hints of Billy Mayerl, Lee Sims, Patricia Rossborough, and a healthy dose of modern and forward-thinking harmonies.

The club’s newest and youngest pianist, Leo Gonzalez, delivered some expert performances of classic Scott Joplin rags, beginning with the mature and august Magnetic Rag (1914), the last Scott Joplin rag published during the composer’s lifetime. He continued with Joplin’s earlier Weeping Willow (1903), a sentimental and bucolic rag that is very much a rag from Joplin’s Mid-Western period. He closed his set with the Joplin and Marshall collaboration, Swipesy Cakewalk (1900), which included some of Leo’s own clever embellishments.

Pedro Bernardez made a slightly belated but much welcome appearance and delivered another trio of Joplin classics. He opened with Joplin’s harmonically audacious A Breeze from Alabama (1902) and continued with a crisp rendering of Joplin’s first published rag, Original Rags (1899). For a rousing finale, Pedro chose Scott Joplin’s triumphant Elite Syncopations (1902).

The Club began a round of encore performances, starting with Max Libertor. Max prepared a pair of technically demanding and harmonically advanced piano novelties from the 1920s – William “Eskimo Bill” Wirges’ Igloo Stomp - Will Thaw Icycles (1927) and an early Ferdé Grofe composition The Cyclone (1923). Vincent Johnson took a hint from Max’s selections and offered James P. Johnson’s Daintiness Rag (1917) and Sid Reinherz’s daring pseudo-Chinese rip off of “Kitten on the Keys”, Mah Jong (1924). Marilyn Martin contributed an encore of Vince Guaraldi’s Christmastime is Here (1965).

Not wanting to let a special occasion pass, the Club took the opportunity to wish young Leo Gonzalez a happy birthday – the following day being his first day as a teenager! A candle-topped sundae was presented to Leo as the Club sang Happy Birthday, first accompanied by Max Libertor on piano, and then Andrew Barrett providing a syncopated piano solo arrangement of the tune (notoriously copyrighted in 1935, but later determined to have first been published as the birthday song in 1912). In a show of birthday generosity, Leo gifted us with an encore performance in the form of Scott Joplin’s Harmony Club Waltz (1896).

Celebrations were further heightened by the appearance of John Reed-Torres, the Club’s other pianist employed by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Authority. Noting that he is still in the process of polishing this particular piece, John essayed Scott Joplin’s beautiful and programmatic Wall Street Rag (1909). In between his performance of two Arthur Marshall rags – Kinklets (1906) and Ham And! (1908) – John played his own On the Rocks – An Effervescent Rag (2018) and Scott Joplin’s delicate and charming Leola (1905).

Encores continued with Pedro Bernardez giving us a second performance of Joplin’s Euphonic Sounds (1909). With Max Libertor on washboard, Andrew Barrett gave a wild and stride-influenced rendering of C. Luckyth Roberts’ Junk Man Rag (1914). From the same year was the ethereal Hesitation Waltz by Nat Johnson, which is one of Andrew’s specialty numbers. Before ceding the piano to Max Libertor, Andrew took a request from John Reed-Torres to play Tom Turpin’s St. Louis Rag (1903). At this point, the meeting had been formally dismissed, having gone past its scheduled ending time, but as attendees slowly began trickling out, Max rendered George L. Cobb’s Rubber Plant Rag (1909), Max Keenlyside & Jaime Cardenas’ Royal Oak Rag (2006), and Tom Brier’s Uncle Ben’s Cakewalk (2003). Pedro Bernardez picked out Ragtime Nightmare (1900) by Tom Turpin and Andrew Barrett came back up to play his own Bathsheba – Intermezzo and Coney Island Washboard (1926).

Address

1400 Huntington Drive
South Pasadena, CA
91030

Opening Hours

1pm - 4:30pm

Telephone

+18184399048

Website

http://roseleafragtimeclub.com/

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