Ragtime Piano Originals: 16 Composer-Pianists Playing Their Own Works

Various Artists

Catchy melodies, individual interpretation, and flashy technique epitomize "novelty" ragtime, a style of ragtime that emerged after World War I. This recording features "the effervescence of authentic ragtime" through virtuosic performances by composer-pianists, and includes a rare solo by Clarence Jones, one of the few black musicians to record novelty rags.

*Content Advisory: The title of track 104 contains derogatory language. While it is offensive to us, we have chosen for the song titles to remain as published and interpreted in the time period in which they were written. We believe that to do otherwise would be to change a historical document. The “n word” was commonplace for a time in history, especially during the era of Jim Crow. Its circulation and popularization through blackface minstrelsy became associated with the identity of Black people in a white supremacist society.

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Track Listing

101	Blaze Away	Mike Bernard	02:43
102	A Classical Spasm	Harry Thomas	03:34
103	It's a Peach	Malvin M. Franklin	02:07
104	Nigger's Hop*	Joseph Batten	02:45
105	Tantalizing Tingles	Mike Bernard	02:22
106	Modulation	Clarence Jones	03:19
107	Unknown Rag	n/a	02:16
108	Butter Scotch	Willy White	03:10
201	Upright and Grand	Frank Banta	02:49
202	The Boston Trot	Sid Reinherz	02:55
203	Peanut Cackle	Frank Herbin	02:38
204	Whippin' the Keys	Sam Goold	02:53
205	That Futuristic Rag	Rube Bloom	02:47
206	Crooked Notes	Jean Paques	02:59
207	Fire Crackers	Donald Thorne	02:40
208	Piano Puzzle	Arthur Schutt	02:53