Aaron Rabushka wrote: >>I have only a few LaserLight CD's, but the performances are usually >>tremendous: ... Go for 'em! Keith Dixon wrote: >Ron Chaplin began this theme referring to the Zimmerman recording of Scott >Joplin's "complete works" on 5 Laserlight CDs. I found what must be the >same recording of the "complete works" on just 4 CDs, on Bescol ... Laserlight is a product of a Santa Monica based concern called Delta Music Inc. They are an interesting company in that they are the American arm and distributor of the German Capriccio label, yet maintain a certain autonomy from the parent. Capriccio is a mid-line label in the US, but Laserlight is a domestic budget label. Most, if not all, of Laserlight's Classical catalog is drawn fron Capriccio's holdings, and in a few instances there is both a mid-line Capriccio and a budget Laserlight version of the same title in distribution from Delta. For it's work outside the scope of Capriccio, Laserlight pulls licenses from a variety of souces. Some things come from MacGregor, others from Frank Donovan, still others from Mercer Ellington and so on. Not every Laserlight release is great and there are some real dogs in the batch. But the price is so cheap that it doesn't represent much of a financial risk to the consumer. In the case of the Zimmermann Joplin set, it was originally issued on LPs back in 1974, when for a short time anything with Scott Joplin's name on it would sell. Sometimes my memory isn't so keen on these details, but I do believe the set came out at one point on Everest, though the original issue was on Murray Hill (931079). Laserlight has pulled a number of licenses from from the former Everest catalog. The Laserlight edition of the Joplin made it's bow on 10-15-1993. I had thought the Bescol set somewhat earlier, but it is later, having been released 9-5-1994. Bescol is also an LA-based concern, and is the lowest rent CD operation I have observed in the retail domain. Their tiny catalog consists of about 75 numbers, virtually all drawn from Everest or companies which were acquired by Everest. They have no relationship to Nimbus other than that the latter company manufactures their CDs. Both packages are drawn from the same LP set. Kevin, your guess is probably correct about Laserlight stretching the set to 5 CDs in order to gain an economic advantage. I have encountered many Laserlight CDs which are no more than 35 to 45 minutes long. Most of these are pop titles, and the Zimmermann/Joplin is catagorized as such- you will note it's absence in the Schwann Opus. When last I checked Bescol is retailing it's 4 disc set for the ridiculous price of just $13.88- that's $3.47 a disc. How two different sets of the same release came out within mere months of each other on two different budget labels is something perhaps only Bernie Solomon (the former owner of Everest) would know for sure. We are unlikely to see this hat trick repeated anytime soon, as Everest has been sold to Rykodisc. Word has it, however, that even Ryko is having some problems working with the Everest material, as the market is so saturated with ex-Everest product hiding on cheap labels that the potential value of much of the catalog may be negligable at this point. However, a good *single* disc package of hits drawn from this source, reasonably priced, might find an audience, as the market is currently kind of soft on such titles. on Fri, 3 Sep 1999 Ron Chaplin wrote: >Having listened to 4 volumes of the series, I can say that the music does >have a lot of bounce, something that gets me going. In tempo, it reminds >me of Gershwin's piano roll recordings and Louis Armstrong's 1930's jazz. >Joplin must have had a strong influence both of these artists, especially >Gershwin. Joplin's influence on early jazz was sort of like Beethoven's influence on Western Music itself; it was all-pervasive. Much of this was based on "Maple Leaf Rag" alone. I doubt that Louis Armstrong even knew of pieces like "Antoinette" or "Search Light Rag". Gershwin certainly knew of Scott Joplin, but a more direct influence (other than that of his teacher, Charles Hambitzer) would have been San Juan Hill stride pianist Charles Luckeyth Roberts (1887-1968). Gershwin's early "Rialto Ripples" (1916) is fashioned around a phrase borrowed from Roberts' 1908 rag "Nothin'". But there certainly ARE some recordings by jazz pioneers of Joplin pieces other than "Maple Leaf" which are relatively faithful to the written text of Joplin's music. To name a few there'e Jelly Roll Morton's 1939 General of "Original Rags", James P. Johnson's 1944 "Euophonic Sounds" on Asch, and both "Swipsey" and "The Entertainer" by Bunk Johnson from his 1949 Carnegie Hall recordings for Columbia (and sadly, his final recording session.) In "The Entertainer", Bunk even includes a strain which Marvin Hamlisch would later leave out! Aaron J. Rabushka wrote: >Scott Kirby's Joplin is quite good, and if you can get the soundtrack from >"The Sting" you can revel in the snappy arrangements by Marvin Hamlisch. Hamlisch was certainly responsible for the OST of "The Sting", but many of the arrangements he used were penned by Gunther Schuller. These, in turn, were adpated from the anonymous "Red Back Book" arrangements published by Joseph Stark in the early 1900s. These were the very same charts used by Bunk Johnson in the 1940s. Speaking of Scott Kirby, whatever happened to Ragtime Annie? Andrys Basten quoted: >By the way, I don't have any Joplin recordings. Any recommendations in >addition to Ron's? About the best single disc collection availbale currently would be Dick Hyman on RCA Victor (7993). For the more "complete" approach, you can't go wrong with William Albright on MusicMasters (67012, 7061). William Bolcom is also in fine form on a MusicMasters release combining Joplin's collablorative Rags with some of James P. Johnson's compositions (67135). If there was any one pianist I would have all of Joplin's rags with, it would be Bolcom, but such is not the case. I am less enthusiastic about John Arpin's ProArte recordings and feel that the Daniel Blumenthal item on Pavane seems particularly off the mark. >How about Rifkin on Nonesuch? It's in a class by itself, much like Glenn Gould's "Goldberg Variations". It may not be the first thing I recommand when it comes to Joplin, but it is an important release which stands well on it's own. I have been both ways with the Rifkin. When it came out in 1973 or so I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. Then, as I got into my 20s and had much more exposure to the jazz concept of Joplin and through playing the music myself I began to feel Rifkin's approach was too careful and precious. Now that I'm pushing forty I've turned back strongly to these recordings again. Sure- his "Maple Leaf Rag" is not right, as Joplin clearly indicates a cut-time march tempo and Rifkin reads it as 'four-on-the-floor'. But the rest of it is great- I love his clarity of line, how he spells out the melody and his constant pulse. I don't think I've ever heard batter recordings of "Bethena", "Eugenia" or even "Solace". >Rifkin was not at all bad. Played them in a bittersweet way. Not that >unlike Joplin's which, in a recording I have somewhere, was recorded when >he was not in best state. Rhythm (of all things) very uncertain. Joplin's 53-note roll of "Maple Leaf Rag" cut in January 1917 was indeed made when he was in declining health, and it shows. But the earlier "Maple Leaf" and the four other selections cut for Connorized the previous year probably capture his playing much as it always was. Contemporary accounts of Joplin's playing record that he was cautious, halting and somewhat stiff- inother words, he "played like a composer". After all, Joplin was the "King of Ragtime Writers", not players. I feel his finest roll is the one of "Magnetic Rag"- after a *very slow* introduction, which seems deliberate (and is IN TEMPO) he takes off and manages to keep his pace for the whole piece, resulting in an ebulliant and joyous reading which is highly personal in style. BTW, Joplin recorded only six rolls, the two of "Maple Leaf", "Magnetic", "Something Doing", "Weeping Willow" and "Ole Miss Rag" by W.C. Handy. Claims for Joplin's playing on such titles as "The Cascades", "Original Rags" and others on 1950s Riverside LPs (and some misinformed or ignorant European CD labels which have drawn from these sources) are in error. These are mechanically-cut rolls, interesting in and of themselves, but not the playing of Scott Joplin by any means. >William Bolcom wrote and plays an unusually touching ragtime piece called >something like "Ghost Rag"?? dedicated to his father who'd died. This is "Graceful Ghost Rag". A somewhat furry recording of it from the 60s may be found on the Vanguard compilation "A Century Of Ragtime" (167/8). I have used this recording as my radio theme music all summer long. >My favorites of Joplin's are the ones you don't get to hear often, such as >"Wall Street"... "Bethena" "Solace" "Gladiolus"... add "Heliotrope Bouquet", "Eugenia", "Euophonic Sounds" and "Elite Syncopations" to the above and you'll have some of my favorites as well. Uncle Dave Lewis [log in to unmask]