Scott Joplin and Ragtime Piano: What America Sounds Like
Jazz is a uniquely American stew, and ragtime is the main ingredient.
In the right hands — and Joshua Rifkin is (or has) the right hands — ragtime piano speaks to something deep, poignant, and sad in the American soul. I know that sounds pretentious, but I believe it.
In “Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington,” Terry Teachout traces the birth of jazz. The main progenitor was ragtime. The quick layman’s version is that ragtime emerged in the late 1800s, and became the rage in the second decade of the last century.
It changed as time passed, as all music does. It was influenced by the blues and New Orleans, the cradle of American music. What emerged was the earliest forms of jazz — which initially was known as “jass.”
Unlike the blues, however, ragtime piano does not shout and there is no bravado. To me, it’s about memory, solitude, regret and hope. It tells its story subtly (and without words, as far as I know) and quietly.
The image in my mind’s eye is of dusty streets with black Model Ts parked at general stores in small mid-western towns in which nothing much is happening.
You have to listen to ragtime. It is contemplative music.
Ragtime made a comeback in the 1970s, in large part due to the great movie “The Sting” with Robert Redford and Paul Newman. The soundtrack featured Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer” as played by Marvin Hamlisch.
My take is that ragtime piano is subtle and fragile music that should be played quietly, at a slow or moderate pace. However, it is very catchy and seems to be easy for proficient players to play fast and loud. In my opinion, that turns it into calliope music.
I believe that’s what happened with Hamlisch’s version of “The Entertainer.” It almost certainly wasn’t his fault. The music was setting the tone for a fast-paced and funny movie. The musicians, like the actors, do what the director tells them to do. I bet that’s what happened in this case.
Rifkin was part of the ragtime revival of those years. The two pieces here — the “Gladiolus Rag” and the “Magnetic Rag” — are just great.
My brother had — and perhaps still has — a couple of Rifkin’s Joplin albums. They featured the same drawing of Joplin and were only distinguished by the color of the border. They are largely responsible for my love of ragtime.
Rifkin, who is a Professor of Music at Boston University, sounds like quite a fellow. Wikipedia says that he has recorded and written about the music of composers from the Renaissance to the 20th century. He’s arranged for Judy Collins and recorded with David Grisman, John Sebastian, and others. He also has recorded “humorous re-imaginings of music by Lennon and McCartney in the style of the 18th century, notably Bach, known as The Baroque Beatles Book.” He sang with Peter Schickele’s P. D. Q. Bach.
Joplin of course was not the only ragtime or ragtime-influenced pianist of note. Others, according to a list at Wikipedia, include Jelly Roll Morton, Luckey Roberts, Willie “the Lion” Smith, Fats Waller, and Eubie Blake.
I didn’t know that there is such a thing as ragtime guitar until relatively recently. Its best-known player is the great Elizabeth Cotten, who is best remembered for the song “Freight Train.” Blind Willie McTell and Blind Blake also were ragtime guitarists.
Anybody interested in the history of American music would benefit from listening to ragtime. What started there has evolved and morphed into modern jazz, hip-hop, and other popular genres. The good news? There is no sign that the journey is anywhere near complete.