Piano Rolls

Piano Rolls

ASIN: B000005J3E

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
In the same period that Jelly Roll Morton began making acoustic recordings of his piano solos, he was also making piano rolls of his strongest material. This CD presents piano rolls that Morton made in 1924, and producer Artis Wodehouse has done a remarkable job of recording them, capturing them with a convincingly live resonance. Morton was keenly aware of studio technology, and it's fascinating to hear him exploit the extended playing time that the piano rolls provided him. Several of these pieces stretch past four minutes, and tracks like "Stratford Hunch" and "Dead Man Blues" allow Morton to extend his variations further than recording allowed, providing another opportunity to hear Morton's innovative synthesis of ragtime, blues, and spontaneous inspiration. The piano sound compares favorably with even well-restored versions of Morton's contemporaneous acoustic recordings for Gennett, with brighter highs and firmer bass notes. --Stuart Broomer

Tracks:

Sweet And Lowdown
Novelette In Fourths
That Certain Feeling
So Am I
Rhapsody In Blue
Swanee
When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em...
Kickin' The Clouds Away
Idol Dreams
On My Mind The Whole Night Long
Scandal Walk
An American In Paris

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully American.......2007-05-14

I've had a copy of this CD for years and love it. The power and optimism of the music is really quite remarkable... regardless of who or what is actually playing here. The arrangement of Swanee is light but rich with major chord trains like you just want to go marching around the room. And American In Paris leads you on a swaying, dischordy journey the deeper you go, as the narrative begins to trade delicacy for passion. (and I love renditions where you can hear the MUSIC and the instruments don't get in the way, like four-voice midi versions of Bach which reveal the eloquence).

When I listen to this CD now, and which is most surpring to me, I hear a profound pride in America - back "before." I play it when I have people over and we put burgers on the grill. This CD is the song of sitting in my back yard with the clouds blowing by and for the moment things feel OK.

"Before" - OK, there is no old perfect Amercia; but I'm thinking of the time before we learned to distill petroleum into toxic pollution, before pride meant vanity and thuggery, before hate-filled invective became public amusement, and before presidents went to war because it was good for business.

A Gersh-winner.......2007-01-07

George Gershwin had a long association with the mechanical device known as the player piano. At the age of ten, Gershwin used a neighbor's pianola to teach himself how to play, by very slowly pumping the foot pedal that advanced the hole-punched rolls, and placing his fingers on the depressed keys. His parents were so impressed by his abilities they enrolled the boy in formal piano studies when he turned 13. Thus, an American genius was born.

The existing films of Gershwin (who died of a brain tumor at age 38 in 1937) show him to be a virtuoso at his instrument. His 1924 acoustic recording of Rhapsody In Blue (with the Paul Whiteman orchestra) is further evidence of this. But no film or recording has what is contained within the album GERSHWIN PLAYS GERSHWIN: THE PIANO ROLLS, and that is-- full fidelity range.

The CD comes in a standard jewel case packaged in a heavy paper slipcover. Biographical liner notes are included along with details on the rolls. The earliest performance in this set is from 1916, made when Gershwin was an 18-year-old song plugger. My favorites here are "Swanee," from 1920, and "An American In Paris," from 1933, which is undoubtedly one of the last significant piano rolls ever made.

Gershwin's dynamic performances are not in the least obscured by the few extra notes added to the piano rolls (such practice was standard in those days). Listening to these recordings is like sitting next to this brilliant man, observing his fingers fly over the keys as he plays some of his best work.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 60:36

Interesting... but I think I'd prefer a good Gershwin interpreter.......2006-05-14

Composers are not necessarily the best performers of their own work. A songwriter's songwriter like Jules Shear or Jimmy Webb comes to mind -- surely the best representations of their songs are on other artist's albums.

This album is charming in its own way -- a taste of the music and performance style of a bygone era. Someone complained that these rolls were edited. So what? I'm going to review the final product, now how it was made. Do you eat sausage? Ask not what's in it!

I like to listen to this CD in short bits -- a few songs at a time. For some reason I find it to be fatiguing if I listen for more than 20 minutes or so. I'm not absolutely sure why this is so. Possibly the meter is just a little too metronomic on many of the songs. This lends a "mechanical" quality to the performances.

Additionally, I felt that the dynamic range was restricted. The music does get louder and softer, because of the piano rolls themselves and because of the computer programming used to read the piano rolls -- the dynamics were deliberately adjusted by the record producers in some spots, if I read the liner notes correctly. And yet. And yet. Still these songs do not dynamically "breathe" fully in and out the way they ought to. I find this disappointing, but I think it has something to do with inherent limitations in piano roll recording technique. I'm guessing.

Taken for what it is, it is an interesting concept, and the sound quality is very pleasant. The performances are very good for piano rolls, but fall short of what a good interpreter could do. Take, for example, the Rhapsody in Blue from Woody Allen's Manhattan soundtrack. Listen specifically to the piano part -- the dynamics and variations in rhythm. This is not by any means the best performance of Rhapsody, but it is better than the Gershwin rolls.

Gershwin's playing overated.......2006-04-09

After I heard this cd I bought Gershwin plays Gershwin on the naxos label which arn't piano rolls. Any pianist can tell that many of these rolls are heavily edited and can't be played by a pianists with two hands. On the naxos album that has some of these same songs Gershwin's actual playing doesn't sound very good. Many of Gershwins contempories such as James P. Johnson, Eubie Blake, Luckey Roberts and even Zez Confrey were much better pianists than he was, however they didn't have his melodic gifts as a composer. I would recommend Artis Whodhouse's
transcriptions of Jelly Roll Morton's piano rolls (on the same label) instead because most of those are exactly how he played them and in my opinion Morton was a better musician in every way than Gershwin.

The jazzy Gershwin. What a CD!!!!!!!.......2006-02-23

I got this CD as a gift. I am all for the austrogerman post- romantic music and as imagined Gershwin is not my favourite composer. I know him from his best known works such as the 'Rhapsody", the 'American' and his great songs. This CD is a treasure as mentioned from other reviewers of this site. Gershwin full of passion, his music being jazzy to the very end and that great feeling you get after a great live performance is present all over the length of this 'treasure'. No question about the presence of the music. Not to be missed

The Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls, Vol. 2

Average customer rating:

BRILLIANT
Pure Gold
Pure Heaven
Gershwin "Live"

The Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls, Vol. 2
George Gershwin
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls
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Gershwin Plays Rhapsody in Blue
Levant Plays Gershwin
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue/Cuban Overture/Porgy and Bess Suite/An American in Paris

ASIN: B000005J3K
Release Date: 1995-09-19

Tracks:

Havanola (Have Another)
Con Conrad: Singin' The Blues ('Till My Daddy Comes Home))
From Now On
Harry Akst: Jaz-O-Mine
Louis Silvers: Just Snap Your Fingers At Care
Jerome Kern: Whip-Poor-Will
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Waitin' For Me
Buzzin' The Bee
Chris Schoenberg: Darling
For Your Country And My Country
Kangaroo Hop
Pastime Rag No. 3
Chinese Blues
Whispering
Arrah Go On I'm Gonna Go Back To Oregon

Customer Reviews:

BRILLIANT.......2006-08-08

This CD is just BRILLIANT. It is every bit as good as the first Gershwin piano rolls CD. Gershwin plays Gershwin (and others) and his genius comes through. A total delight!

Pure Gold.......2004-01-25

When I first heard Rhapsody in Blue on this CD it didn't sound quite right. It was more free, more spontaneous, more joyous.
But that is because it went from the composer's mind directly to his fingers, bypassing the compromise of sheetmusic. It goes right to the heart of the listener.

If I was stranded on a desert island and allowed to bring only 10 CDs, this one just might have to be one of the ones I would have to take.

Pure Heaven.......2003-11-11

How would you feel if George Gershwin himself suddenly appeared out of nowhere, sat down at the piano in the corner of your own living room, and played away to his heart's content?

Amazement and delight would perhaps be fair, but not quite good enough words to describe it - pure heaven may just hit nearer the mark!

Such is the feeling that pervades this wonderful collection, which, no less magnificently done than the 1st Volume - an all-Gershwin program - also includes some of the sources of his inspiration.

This is a rare authentic glimpse into the mind of a giant, and listening to him in person affords a feeling of connecting directly to his universe, a feeling as magical as it is palpable.

The style of his playing is positive, decisive, clean, straightforward, no-nonsense, resolutely devoid of either sentimentality or cynicism. However somewhere between the lines engraved is his own heartbeat, full of hope, gentle irony, and complete and utter belief in everything good - be it friendship, love, or life itself.

A must for Gershwin lovers, a much-needed reminder of faith, in these turbulent times, for everyone else.

Gershwin "Live".......2000-08-04

Listening to these modern recordings taken from old piano rolls cut by George Geershwin between 1916 and 1921, one might be compelled to conclude that there's something to be said for older technology. We are able to listen to Gershwin performances that sound as though they occurred today. Obviously, an actual recording made at the time these rolls were cut would have had very primative sound quality, and nowhere near the immediacy which is present here.

Tracks:

Maple Leaf Rag
Something Doing
Weeping Willow Rag
The Entertainer
The Easy Winners
Pine Apple Rag
Solace
Gladiolus Rag
The Ragtime Dance
Sugar Cane
The Crush Collision March
Bethena - A Concert Waltz
Combination March
A Breeze From Alabama

Customer Reviews:

Best interpretation...is NO interpretation.......2007-02-24

This is as PLAIN a Ragtime CD as I've ever heard. No frills, no added notes, no interpretation going on here. Not everyone would like this style-without-a-style, but for me it's the best. I like to listen to these recordings with the sheet music in front of me, to see whether I can catch every note. (OK, so I do the same thing with Palestrina...I'm too left-brained to appreciate music the way musical people do.)
If you enjoy the solace of great ragtime, get a Joshua Rifkin or Dick Hyman CD. But if you crave the essence of Joplin's genius in the straightest, blandest form possible, this is the CD for you.
Also, don't dismiss the possibility of listening to a track on this CD, then on the Rifkin CD to develop a keener appreciation of Rifkin's unparalleled Joplin style. "Bethena" is a good one for this, as Rifkin brings so much PASSION to his interpretation. Well, a mechanical piano roll is not going to do that....

Average customer rating:

The Greatest 'Living' Piano Concerto
Everything I like about Adams on one great disc!
Showy but Shallow and Tedious
And while we wait...
Thus far my favorite John Adams recording

Century Rolls

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Road Movies

ASIN: B00004YR65
Release Date: 2001-01-02

Tracks:

Concerto for Piano "Century Rolls": First Movement
Concerto for Piano "Century Rolls": Manny's Gym
Concerto for Piano "Century Rolls": Hail Bop
Lollapalooza
Slonimsky's Earbox

Amazon.com

Of all the so-called minimalists working today, John Adams is the only one with any good ideas left. Witness this delightful release. The key to Adams's creativity is that he isn't bound by theoretical constraints on what "minimalism" should be. Century Rolls (1995) is a commission by Emanuel Ax, and it was inspired by the composer's listening to a CD recording of an ancient player piano. Century Rolls doesn't duplicate that sound, but it is, instead, an unexpected romp across new rhythmic territory. As for Mr. Ax, he comports himself very well, particularly in the difficult first Movement, which requires deft coordination of all forces involved. The brief Lollapalooza (1995) is more recognizably minimalist but with considerable orchestral color and shifting moods. And Slominsky's Earbox (1996) is a powerfully full-orchestra-driven canter. All this is to say that the CD is one of the best releases of Adams's career, and it will appeal to a very wide audience. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

The Greatest 'Living' Piano Concerto.......2007-05-10

Much speaks in favour of Mr Adams being the greatest living classical composer. His output for piano is sparse, though including the important masterpiece Phrygian Gates--indeed the greatest major work written for the instrument since Messiaen's Vingt Regards and Barber's Sonata. I will try not to exaggerate: Together with Medtner's Third, Shostakovich's Second, Poulenc's and Barber's Piano Concertos, Adams's Century Rolls is the greatest work for piano and orchestra written since Rachmaninov's landmark Paganini Rhapsody. On the other hand, one could argue there is limited competition--many have tried but utterly few have managed to create something truly memorable since the days of the great late-Romantic warhorses. But that is just why Adams's unique achievement should be anything but underestimated. Even if Mr Ax still has a monopoly on recorded versions, his playing is likely to more than hold its own with future comers.

So, why only four stars? Well, the problem lies with the couplings, which are far from outstanding. My praise for Lollapalooza is considerably lower than many other reviewers'; it is of some interest, though not for repeated listening. Slonimsky's Earbox indeed gives some pleasure--for the moment--though I would be deadly surprised hearing someone humming its tunes. Nagano's conducting thankfully adds some excitement; it is basically on the same level as his edge-of-the-seat account of Messiaens' orchestral masterpiece Turangalila-Symphonie (Teldec--my review pending).

Throughout, the recorded sound is excellent with a great deal of brilliance and impact. I do urge you to acquire this disc--not for the couplings but for the greatest Piano Concerto written by a living composer.

Everything I like about Adams on one great disc!.......2006-11-15

My classical CD's are, like many of yours, alphabetized on my CD rack, and the A - B section probably takes up 20% of the total rack space. This is, of course, partially because Bach, Beethoven and Bernstein all begin with "B." This is also due to the fact that I own more John Adams recordings than any of the above. I'm a John Adams fan.

I've had the privilege of seeing John Adams both conduct and lecture on his own works, and two things are immediately evident when you hear Adams speak...

1) This guy has a brain the size of a Volkswagen, and

2) This guy has a great sense of humor.

Both of these qualities are laid bare for the listener in this recording. Century Rolls is a 3-movement piano concerto indicative of Adams' earlier minimalist style. It's a well-written piece to begin with, and with Emmanuel Ax performing, the recording is downright stunning. Lollapalooza (which may be my new favorite Adams work) is a tight little orchestral work that, as the title suggests, seems to swirl around a few rhythmic motives. Slonimsky's Earbox surprised me quite a bit on the first hearing; it's big, it's violent, it's colorful... all qualities I've come to expect in many of Adams' minimalist works, but this piece is in no way minimalist.

If you're new to John Adams, this disc, along with San Francisco's "The Chairman Dances," is a great place to start your collection. Not really a fan of minimalism? Me neither, but then again, as I look over my John Adams collection, only a small percentage of the pieces represented could actually be described as true minimalism.

Showy but Shallow and Tedious.......2006-05-28

Another reviewer(R.Hutchison) was totally correct.
This is shallow music.It is slick and very well orchestrated but so is much film music(think of the brilliant Elliott Goldenthal).Why Adams is seen by many musically educated critics as the greatest current American composer I don't know.
Adams has a brilliant technique-that cannot be denied.He has actually written some good music-Harmonium is a lovely piece,almost visionary in its scope.Unfortunately in my view he has succumbed to what many American composers have done-crowd pleasing showy orchestration but with music of little substance.Harmonium was a rare example by Adams music of substance and good orchestration.
The piano concerto,like the violin concerto,sees the soloist wasted on banal meanderings while the orchestra assaults us with even more banal repetetive phrases.Poor Emanuel Ax.The slow movement is really banal.
Loopalooza is very clever yes(even catchy) but again gets really irritating so by the end you could'nt give a ...k.
The Slonominsky piece is the best piece by far but again leaves you with the the conclusion 'good orchestration but so what'.It AGAIN descends into obsessively repetitive phrases that drive you mad!
Adams music on this disc is a curious mix of Steve Reich,Stravinsky,Schoenberg,Copland,and his own Shaker Loops but without the unity.We get slushy 'apple pie' Americana Copland/John Williams/Disney films harmonies(you know what I mean!!) colliding with atonal music I thought he did'nt like! Maybe he wants that mix but it drives me nuts and does'nt work.It would'nt be so bad if it did'nt sound all so slick,flash and mechanical.

And while we wait..........2005-05-28

John Adams is popular not only with musicians who flock to him for commissions but also with audiences, who despite the intellectual participation required to delve deeply into the music of Adams' creations, greet him with standing ovations. This recording includes a piano concerto created for Emmanuel Ax, 'Century Rolls', which is as challenging yet engaging a work for piano and orchestra as any recent such compositions. Ax enormous talent makes this piece sound utterly effortless.

It is such commissions as the 'The Dharma of Big Sur' premiered in 2003 by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the LA Philharmonic with electric violinist Tracy Silverman that keep Adams' popularity alive. At a recent performance in Disney Hall with the same participants as for the premiere the audience not only understood the complex, richly colored score which demonstrates Adams' increasingly sophisticated and expanded palette, they accepted the aspect of an amplified electric violin as not just an instrument from the realm of 'pop culture' but as an expressive, completely different aspect of classical music. One only hopes that this work will soon be recorded as it is one of Adams' more complex and cerebral pieces.

Until that recording is made, this wonderful concerto, coupled with 'Lollapalooza' and 'Slonimsky's Earbox' for orchestra alone, will certainly be a fine introduction to the wonders Adams creates in the concerto realm. Grady Harp, May 05

Thus far my favorite John Adams recording.......2005-03-01

As much as I love Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Mozart, etc. I still cannot help but yearn for modern composers who are inspired by modern sounds, human experiences and emotions as the foundations for creating acoustic orchestral music. For me John Adams is one of the few who is successfully doing just this. I don't believe he's doing anything different than composers like Dvorak, Bartok, and Kodaly over one hundred years ago who based much of their works on ethnic popular folk music. Western music has a such a tremendous legacy, I'm glad to see it being advanced by Adams's genius. All three pieces, Century Rolls, Lollapalooza, and Slonimsky's Earbox I find fun and intriguing to listen to. May be they do not take me to the heavens like Mozart's 41st or Beethoven's 5th, but they nonetheless deserve careful attention before being dismissed as reactionary.

Average customer rating:

The Best New Orleans Piano player that you never heard of
Tour de Force
great music

New Orleans Piano Rolls
Joe Krown
Manufacturer: Str Digital
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00009NRW3
Release Date: 2003-04-28

Tracks:

Tipitina
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans
On the Sunnyside of the Street
Boogie Woogie Prayer
Just A Closer Walk
Pink Champagne
Maple Leaf Rag
Moore Women Shuffle
Down By the Riverside
Miss Celies Mood
Uptown Boogie
Pineapple Rag
Basin St. Blues
St. Louis Blues
Those Were the Days

Album Description

New Orleans Piano Rolls documents what is referred to as traditional New Orleans piano music. It is a good representation of what you might hear when you see Krown play solo piano performances. He is attempting to carry on the tradition of the great New Orleans piano styles, beginning with ragtime and continuing into boogie woogie and stride, all in the style of modern pianists, such as Professor Longhair, Dr. John and James Booker.

Customer Reviews:

The Best New Orleans Piano player that you never heard of.......2005-06-22

This is a great CD! This is one of the best contemporary New Orleans piano players that you have never heard of. Joe Krown has an excellent selection of songs; they are played brilliantly, and the recording is crystal clear. This CD goes quite smoothly through all of the New Orleans "standards" from ragtime to boogie woogie and stride. The song that impressed me the most was "tipitina". Everyone in the big easy plays this one from Professor Longhair to Dr. John. Joe Krown's version is my favorite! He includes several of his own compositions, and they are fantastic. I read above that since September 1996, he's held the Traditional Piano Night slot at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans, which was once occupied by Professor Longhair and James Booker. That's good company, Joe!

Tour de Force.......2003-12-17

This is the most satisfying CD I have heard in years, with layer upon layer of artistry and creativity, not just with the old standards but with Joe Krown's 3 new compositions. Every time I listen I hear something new in this sparkling performance. His previous solo piano album was just a warm-up for these 15 amazing tracks. His organ and combo CDs are fine, but this is the one to cherish.

great music.......2003-06-22

i love joe's first solo piano cd but this one is better, great big easy music.

Average customer rating:

Just from the sound samples, I don't think I'd like it.
Fantastic re-recording!!
Not really satisfactory

Piano Rolls
Jelly Roll Morton
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Release Date: 1997-05-27

Tracks:

Midnight Mama
Shreveport Stomps
Stratford Hunch
Dead Man Blues
Grandpa's Spells
Tin Roof Blues
London Blues
King Porter Stomp
Sweet Man
Original Jelly Roll Blues
Mr. Jelly-Lord
Tom Cat Blues

Amazon.com

In the same period that Jelly Roll Morton began making acoustic recordings of his piano solos, he was also making piano rolls of his strongest material. This CD presents piano rolls that Morton made in 1924, and producer Artis Wodehouse has done a remarkable job of recording them, capturing them with a convincingly live resonance. Morton was keenly aware of studio technology, and it's fascinating to hear him exploit the extended playing time that the piano rolls provided him. Several of these pieces stretch past four minutes, and tracks like "Stratford Hunch" and "Dead Man Blues" allow Morton to extend his variations further than recording allowed, providing another opportunity to hear Morton's innovative synthesis of ragtime, blues, and spontaneous inspiration. The piano sound compares favorably with even well-restored versions of Morton's contemporaneous acoustic recordings for Gennett, with brighter highs and firmer bass notes. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

Just from the sound samples, I don't think I'd like it........2007-06-02

From the sound samples alone, I wouldn't like it. Nonesuch is a Classical music based lable, and it definately shows on this recording. First of all, Jelly Roll Morton on a grand piano? Get serious!!! He has always been the type of musician that sounds best on an upright (preferably tack hammer) piano. The second bothersome thing is that there's way too much reverb. It sounds like it was recorded in an empty concert hall (which knowing Nonesuch, it probably was). When my eye caught the song list, I was thrilled about it, and then I heard the song samples. Tell ya what, listen to the samples yourself, and judge for yourself. If you're a classical music buff, you'll probably love it. But if you're a blues / Jazz / Ragtime fan, you'll love the idea, but (like me) think the instrument and reverb are inappropriate.

Fantastic re-recording!!.......2004-11-12

I am very familiar with these Morton piano rolls from their previous incarnations on Biograph, Pianola, and other indie jazz labels, and so am well aware of their assets and limitations. On one LP transfer, "Grandpa's Spells" sounded very natural and fluid, but there was no pedal used and so the thumping bass notes sounded odd and hollow. On the Biograph CD, "Shreveport Stomp" came out very well but, again, no pedal...and Morton was a master of pedal effects.

On this CD, Odis Wodehouse (I wonder if she's any relation to 1920s author P.G. Wodehouse??) has done a remarkable job of emulating Morton's touch, dynamics and pedal effects. Often I caught my breath listening, the immediacy of Morton's presence was so strong! Each and evry track sounds perfectly natural, and the wonderful presence makes every fingering detail stand out.

And what's so wrong about listening to Morton on a Steinway grand??? That's what he played at the Library of Congress in 1938, and no one has complained about those discs!!

Not really satisfactory.......2001-10-13

The trouble with these rolls is that they were recorded in the cheaper way, without any dynamics, unlike the expensive rolls by Rachmaninoff and other classical pianists. Ms Wodehouse has attempted to supply the missing dynamics, but the result doesn't sound at all like Morton's playing as you can hear it on the JSP set or the Lomax recordings. It is more like, perhaps, Dick Hyman playing Morton's music. Also, a big concert grand doesn't seem very suitable for this music.

Ravel Plays Ravel (Original Piano Rolls)

Average customer rating:

incorrectly regulated piano roll reproducing mechanism
Only Ravel Knew!
Ravel as Ravel intended
A fraud!
Good music, but too mechanical.

Ravel Plays Ravel (Original Piano Rolls)

Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos / Richter

ASIN: B000001VJ7
Release Date: 1995-05-16

Tracks:

Bolero: Orchestration
Pavane pour une infante difunte
Miroirs Suite For Piano: La Vallee des Cloches, No.5
'Le Tombeau de Couperin': Toccata
Gaspard de la Nuit No.2; Le Gibet
Oiseaux Tristes No.2

Customer Reviews:

incorrectly regulated piano roll reproducing mechanism.......2005-12-05

Not only is the toccata performed by Robert Casadesus and not by Ravel, as the recording states, but the Duo-Art rolls which were used to make this recording has been shown by historians to be _incorrectly calibrated_ (in the Ronald Woodley article in the cambrige compainion to ravel, p222) and therefore absurdly and grotesquely twisted.

There are recordings available with these rolls correctly calibrated and they are *wonderful* (the "masters of the piano roll" cd issued recently by dal segno)
[...]

don't let the cheap price fool you: Ravel would be seriously angered to have this recording attributed to him.

Only Ravel Knew!.......2003-05-09

There is some doubt about this "historical" recording. The title of the CD is "Ravel plays Ravel". Except what you read from the Amazon website, you couldn't find any information about the recording in the accompanying pamphlet or on the CD itself. There is no name for the orchestra that played the Bolero, you are not sure whether Ravel was the conductor to this anonymous orchestra or he was just a cymbals player sitting in the back of orchestra. For the solo piano pieces, it didn't say it was from live recordings or piano rolls. All the accompanying pamphlet said is just a brief generic biography of Ravel. Only two out of the seven works mentioned are actually on the CD.

The copyright of this recording is "1995 Delta Music", Delta Music is a seldem heard name. The CD is issued by a truly budget label - "Laser Light Digital". You certainly get a bottom budget price on this CD, but whether it is historical or not? only Ravel knew!

Ravel as Ravel intended.......2002-12-29

This CD cotains something that we normally do not get a look at - five works as they were actually performed by the original composer.

The "Bolero" that begins this recording, however, is by the Halle Orchestra under the baton of Sir John Barbirolli. Although not the best recording of "Bolero" (that distinction belongs to Pierre Boulez and the Berlin Philharmonic), it is certainly up to the standards of the remainder of the album.

And it is the rest of the numbers on this CD that give it the distinction it deserves. Transcribed and transferred from original piano rolls that had been manufactured from Ravel's own hand, these recordings are a rare look at musical works that were composed =and= played by the composer.

"Pavanne for a Dead Princess" starts the show, followed by "Valley of the Bells", a toccata from "Le Tombeau de Couperin", "The Gibbet", and "Sad Birds". There five recordings show students how Ravel himself would have played his own pieces.

These five recordings are what make this album a "must buy" for students and fans of Ravel and a worthy addition to the classical library, especially for classical radio stations.

A fraud!.......2002-10-22

Word has it that Ravel had another pianist record these piano rolls. Even if it were Ravel himself--who was no great virtuoso, by the way--these recordings were not restored or transferred with anything resembling care, nor is the piano used in the transfer a concert-worthy instrument. As for the orchestral recording of the Bolero, clearly this is an anonymous modern recording and has no connection to the composer.

Let's face it, this recording is being marketed as a historical document, and in that regard it has no value whatsoever. Why buy it?

Good music, but too mechanical........2002-10-03

credible. However, whenever a transfer is made from performance to recording or back, there is some loss. This is a good example. As much as I love the music, this sounds mechanical to me: I think the process that this was recorded by reduced the power of the recording. Perhaps this is just because I am a pianist, but the other reviewers seem to enjoy the album and seem very versed in music. In any case, my opinion, for what it is worth, is that it sounds like a player piano's playback of a great pianist's recording. (The orchestral Bolero is an exception, but there is a saxophone-sounding instrument that I believe comes out too strongly in the texture at one point.)

The Elite Syncopations: Classic Ragtime from Rare Piano Rolls

Average customer rating:

Exposes the real ragtime

The Elite Syncopations: Classic Ragtime from Rare Piano Rolls

Manufacturer: Shout Factory
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Ragtime | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Entertainer: Classic Ragtime from Rare Piano Rolls
King of the Ragtime Writers
The Greatest Ragtime of the Century
Complete Piano Music of Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin: Piano Rags

ASIN: B00009PJSO
Release Date: 2003-06-10

Tracks:

Maple Leaf Rag
Ole Miss Rag
Magnetic Rag
Elite Syncopations
Country Club
Paragon Rag
Eugenia
Cleopha
A Real Slow Drag
Scott Joplin's New Rag
Leola - Two Step
Lily Queen
The Chrysanthemum
Heliotrope Bouquet
Reflection Rag
Silver Swan Rag, Ragtime Two-Step

Customer Reviews:

Exposes the real ragtime.......2006-11-03

I think we have a tendency to play older music to match the expectations of our modern ear. This can bring new views and fresh insights, but it can also lose the original vision of the composer. I enjoy the massive orchestrations played on modern instruments, but I also value the original orchestrations played on period instruments. This disk is an example of the latter. W. C. Handy is one of the greats of the era and here he plays the masterpieces of his time in the style of the time. The clean (re-)recording brings out new emphasis and subtleties that I hadn't heard in modern performances. Eugenia is a lovely piece as is Cleopha. A Real Slow Rag starts out almost in a tango mood. Scott Joplin's New Rag picks up the pace. And there's the continuous thrill of "hearing" W. C. Handy play for us. I keep coming back to this disk for a refreshing look back to the American music of a century ago.

Average customer rating:

remarkable evocation of a bygone style
Wodehouse the magnificent
The Rolls Royce of Zez Confrey recordings.

Zez Confrey Piano Rolls and Scores

Manufacturer: Warner Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Confrey: Piano Music
James Scott: The Complete Works 1903-1922
American Beauties: The Rags of Joseph Lamb
Complete Stark Rags of Joseph F. Lamb
The Original James P. Johnson 1942-1945

ASIN: B00007KMNW
Release Date: 2003-04-01

Tracks:

Dizzy Fingers
The Red Lantern
By The Waters Of The Minnetonka
Novelette
Waltz Mirage
Greenwich Witch
Afghanistan
Kitten On The Keys
Kinda Careless
The Sheik Of Araby
Heaven's Garden
Stumbling
Jaywalk
Tap Dance Of The Chimes
Humorestless
That Thing Called Love
Midsummer's Nightmare
Tricks
Coaxing The Piano
Concert Etude
My Pet
Relaxation
Fantasy Of Today

Customer Reviews:

remarkable evocation of a bygone style.......2003-07-25

In some ways, Artis Wodehouse's Disklavier realization of Zez Confrey's lighter-than-air pianistic joyrides is an even more impressive accomplishment than her previous restorations of Gershwin and Jelly Roll Morton piano rolls. Confrey's novelty style seems the truest musical embodiment of F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is fascinating to hear the spirit of the 20s come to life in such a nerve titillating way. Especially remarkable are the selections hand played by Ms. Wodehouse into the Disklavier. Though they are designated on the jacket liner notes, by ear it is impossible to tell the difference-- a tribute to the complete success and seamless integrity of her stylistic resurrection.

Wodehouse the magnificent.......2003-04-25

I've heard Artis Wodehouse play in other venues and she is an artist of the most amazing versatility and profound knowledge, not to mention astounding energy. This CD is exciting to listen to, friends play in their workplaces to add zip to life there. It will bring you tremendous enjoyment.

The Rolls Royce of Zez Confrey recordings........2003-04-10

If you already know and enjoy Zez Confrey's music, this disc belongs in your collection. If Confrey is unknown to you, this disc still belongs in your collection, unless of course you find joyful, exuberant piano music to be repugnant.

For those new to Confrey, here's a brief description:

Edward Elzear Confrey (known to all as Zez) was a self-described composer of novelty piano music, his way of trying to describe music that was at once influenced by ragtime, early jazz, popular songs, and classical composers, particularly Debussy and MacDowell. His music rarely if ever aspires to emotional profundity, but its sheer joy, bounce, and tunefulness make it hard to put down once you've started, whether as listener or pianist. As an amateur pianist, I've been playing Zez Confrey's music for 20 years. The reactions I have gotten from people over the years have been consistently the same; "Wow! Who wrote that?", and "Are there recordings of this music I can buy?". Now, this disc gives me an easy answer to the second question.

This disc is Artis Wodehouse's fourth disc devoted to her amazing humanized piano rolls. The first two covered a good cross-section of George Gershwin's piano rolls, while a third was a collection of piano rolls by Jelly Roll Morton. This is easily her finest work since the first "Gershwin plays Gershwin" disc in 1993.

Zez Confrey, like his contemporaries George Gershwin and Jelly Roll Morton, left behind a well-rounded collection of acoustic gramophone recordings as well as paper piano rolls. The least sophisticated of these paper rolls merely captured the notes that the pianist played and nothing more. Once the roll was published and sold, it was the job of the consumer, operating his or her own reproducing piano, to mechanically add pedaling, rubato, and dynamics as he or she saw fit. However, the most sophisticated reproducing rolls captured not only the notes but the pedaling, rubato, and dynamics used by the pianist, often with uncanny accuracy. All paper rolls allowed the pianist the option of post-production editing, e.g., removing wrong notes, and in popular music such as this, adding dazzling "third hand" counterpoint effects that made the end result unplayable by a human pianist. Confrey was one the best at this, and he uses this technique liberally throughout the rolls on this disc. (For those of you familiar with Confrey's "Kitten on the Keys" or "Dizzy Fingers" in their standard published versions, you're in for a treat once you hear Confrey's souped up three-handed versions presented here.) Still, even the best of these paper rolls played back on the best reproducing pianos could never be mistaken by an astute listener for a human being (two-handed or otherwise). There was always a discernible gap between playing produced in the human realm and that of the mechanical realm, that is until relatively recently. The explosion of digital technology has allowed such things as computerized reproducing pianos like the Yamaha Disklavier to become a readily available reality. Recordings made and played back on such pianos are virtually indistinguishable from live human performances. It wasn't long before people like Artis Wodehouse starting exploring ways to apply this technology to the old paper rolls, finally enabling listeners to experience what it might have been like to hear pianists like Gershwin, Morton, and Confrey recorded in the flesh, and in modern sound. By taking the information encoded on these old paper rolls and feeding it into a Yamaha Disklavier system, she has been able narrow the gap between human playing and mechanical playing to the point of near nonexistence. Through careful study of Confrey's actual playing from acoustic recordings, Wodehouse has softened the mechanical edges, painstakingly adding those qualities that distinguished Confrey's playing in the flesh, effectively making each roll indistinguishable from an actual human performance.

On the first Gershwin disc from 1993, several of the rolls she chose had been previously recorded in their original paper roll form. Having heard these original paper roll recordings, listening to Artis Wodehouse's humanized versions of these same rolls was like seeing an old film before and then after restoration. In short, it was a revelation.

This new Zez Confrey disc easily lives up to these high standards Wodehouse set for herself, indeed this disc may even set the bar higher. This time around, not only is Wodehouse working from two different types of paper rolls, she is actually playing some of the pieces herself, works that Confrey did not record, but that deserve a place on any disc of Confrey's music. The joyful bounce and rhythmic snap of her playing so perfectly matches Confrey's own playing that it becomes impossible to tell which tracks are hers and which are Confrey's. The result is an amazingly seamless and unified blend of musicianship, scholarship, technological know-how, with an astute understanding of the individual elements that made Confrey's playing unique. Whether as pianist or digital editor, with this CD, Wodehouse has done more for Confrey's music than has anyone before her. The results are well worth hearing.

Classic Movie & Broadway Show Tunes From Rare Piano Rolls
Average customer rating:

This is my favorite CD!

If you do not like player piano tunes, beware of this CD

Classic Movie & Broadway Show Tunes From Rare Piano Rolls
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Biograph
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000003HMG
Release Date: 1996-08-06

Tracks:

You Do Something To Me - Douglas Henderson
What Is This Thing Called Love
Night And Day
I Get A Kick Out Of You - Max Kortlander
Anything Goes - Walter Redding
Begin The Beguine - Max Kortlander
Just One Of Those Things
In The Still Of The Night - Dick Watson
It's De-Lovely
Rosalie
My Heart Belongs To Daddy
Wunderbar - Ted Baxter
I Love Paris
C'est Magnifique - Harold Scott

Customer Reviews:

This is my favorite CD!.......2003-06-07

I am a fan of old movies and musicals. When I saw this CD, I knew I just had to have it. The music is superb and makes you feel as if you are back in time. Also, the quality is excellent. I would reccomend this CD to any old movie fan or piano lover. Excellent!

If you do not like player piano tunes, beware of this CD.......1999-02-04

I did not realize this CD contains player piano tunes. If the rest of the title had appeared online, I would have reconsidered. After listening to a few, they tend to sound alike.

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music