BluesTone rolls below are sorted by COMPOSER then by TITLE:

You can begin browsing the rags from the "top" at Rag Composers, A - J (Aufderheide, Bargy, Boone, Botsford, Copeland, Dabney, Johnson, etc.) or take it from here...

137331 S'More Jazz played by the composer Lloyd Kidwell $13 This roll is currently out of stock
(originally issued on Vocalstyle 50186)

Lloyd Kidwell : Another roll company oddity, this tune is a novelty-tinged rag which appears to have been written and performed only on this roll made for Vocalstyle and released in March 1920. Kidwell made a number of rolls for Vocalstyle, and probably took the opportunity to run this one off while working there. It's a lively tune and quite scarce as an original roll. This has only been recut once before, by Golden Age back in the early 1970's.

137285 Champagne Rag and Exelcior Rag (Joseph Lamb) arranged rolls $16 This roll is currently out of stock
(originally issued on U. S. Music 64523 and U. S. Music 62255)

Joseph Lamb : I don't need to tell you anything about these two Lamb classics. Champagne Rag and Exelsior Rag are absolutely beautiful rags; Excelsior has some especially neat, complicated rhythms. These U.S. Music rolls are just the best, with some very tasteful fills and all the repeats followed. Both rags appear in Dover's Classic Piano Rags folio.

137020 Contentment Rag (Joseph Lamb) played by Steve Williams $13 This roll is currently out of stock
(originally issued on Artempo 2815)

Joe Lamb tells the story of this rag himself on Joseph Lamb: A Study in Classic Ragtime (Folkways FG3562) and how he composed it for his publisher, John Stark, as an anniversary present in 1909. Williams adheres to the repeats and embellishes the score very nicely. This is a beautiful rag with fine melodies throughout.

137022 Ragtime Nightingale (Joseph Lamb) played by Steve Williams $13
(originally issued on Artempo 3855)

Here is another outstanding hand-played rag classic on Ar tempo played by Ernest L. Stevens (under his "Steve Williams" pseudonym). The "majestic mood" of Ragtime Night in gale (to quote Jasen & Tichenor in Rags and Ragtime) is evident through out the piece, with the relaxed tempo and beautiful, flowing melody that one expects from a rag written by the likes of Joplin, Lamb and Scott.

137050 Top Liner Rag (Joseph Lamb) played by Howard Lutter $13
(originally issued on Artempo 8834)

"Undoubtedly Lamb's greatest rag and among the three great est rags of all time." That is what Dave Jasen said of this 1916 Lamb classic in Rags and Ragtime. Besides being one of the best rags, this roll is exceptional because the per form ance is tasteful and true to the published score, as are all of the great Artempo hand-played rag rolls.

137286 Kinklets and Silver Rockets Rag (Arthur Marshall) arranged rolls $16
(originally issued on QRS 30519 and Jazz Classics [no number])

Arthur Marshall : Rags and Ragime tells us that Kinklets was Marshall's favorite of the rags he wrote, and the A section is one of my favorites - it's a beautiful classic rag. Rags and Ragime also states that the title was derived from the notion that "that tune's got plenty kinks in it." To my ear the D section of Silver Rocket Rag has the most kinks in it of any section in these two pieces, and that makes it outstanding for me. This roll of Silver Rocket was issued on Richard Riley's Jazz Classics label from a new arrangement on the level of the Classics of Ragtime rolls, and it is quite nice. The former was reprinted in Dover's Classic Piano Rags and the latter in They All Played Ragtime, so I didn't include the sheet for either rag here.

137117 Pastime Rag No. 1 (Artie Matthews) hand-played by Terry Waldo $16
(original issue / Front Porch 007 / recorded June 10, 1990 in Sedalia, MO)

You may have heard Terry's Dirty Shame LP (Snookums Rag) with all five of Matthews' Pastime Rags. It prompted me to ask Terry to record them for piano rolls. Here is Terry's performance of the first of those excellent compositions, with all the spice Matthews wrote into the music plus Terry's tasteful embellishments.

137137 Pastime Rag No. 4 (Artie Matthews) hand-played by Terry Waldo $16 This roll is currently out of stock
(original issue / Front Porch 014 / recorded June 10, 1990 in Sedalia, MO)

I skipped directly to my favorite Pastime rag instead of issuing them in chronological order, 'cause I can do that! This rag is so boldly different in the first section that Stark held off publishing it until last, possibly to avoid a cool reception to the others. It was certainly modern for its time, and is still very modern-sounding today. Terry embellishes the original score with a few of his own ideas which help maintain a very lively and fresh feel all the way through. This is a truly exciting performance!

137332 Weary Blues (Artie Matthews) played by Elmer Bendix $16
and Pastime Rag No. 3 (Artie Matthews) played by George Gershwin
(a.k.a. "Fred Murtha" / (originally issued on Perfection 87019 and Perfection 87019)

Artie Matthews : Last year I issued 2 Perfection rolls from 1917, and this time I've gone back to mid-1916 for these scarce original issues of 2 fine Artie Matthews compositions. Weary Blues has never been recut from a hand-played roll, and Pastime Rag No. 3 is of course a very popular rag which is played for us here in one of George Gershwin's earliest roll recordings. These are not originally long rolls owing to their early release dates, so I am able to offer both for the same low price as a "single".

137333 Keen Kut-Ups played by the composer Armand Muth $13
(originally issued on Staffnote 2039)

Armand Muth : As with S'More Jazz above, this is a novelty rag which appears to have been written and performed only on this roll made for Staffnote in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and released ca. 1923. Muth made dozens of rolls for Staffnote, but few are as good as this very obscure rag. It turned up in Australia ("of all places") via the Mechanical Music Digest emailing list, and was made available last year to be recut for the first time ever. Sasha LeJones can now take a flying leap (never mind - inside joke!).

137287 Red Onion Rag (Abe Olman) arranged rolls $16
(originally issued on QRS 31216)

and Cheerful Blues (Abe Olman) played by A. Hyland
(originally issued on Connorized 20520) - sheet music included with roll

Abe Olman : Here is a terrific roll of Red Onion Rag which is a real powerhouse! This roll is just as hot as the neat 1917 recording made by Roy Spangler and reissued on Herwin LP 402 (hey, Jasen, how much longer we gotta wait to hear this stuff on CD?!!). Richard Zimmerman included this delightful rag in his 101 Rare Rags folio. Cheerful Blues is another fine rag (contrary to the title) with a healthy dose of nice, funky, bluesy effects. It has not yet been reprinted, so I included a copy of the sheet with this recut.

137084 Little Bit of Rag (Paul Pratt) arranged roll $13
(originally issued on U. S. Music 8005B)

Paul Pratt was another of the Indiana rag composers, and this (for the first time on a recut!) is one of the rags Paul Pratt wrote and arranged exclusively for piano roll. The melody and chord progressions are striking and very clever, and an unusual "mandolin" tremolo effect is used to intensify the agitated feeling of the piece. "Rags & Ragtime" mentions this but discusses roll arrangements in general more than the fact that this roll is such a fine testament to Pratt's talent for roll arranging.

137260 Bon Ton Cakewalk and Pork & Beans Rag (Luckey Roberts) arranged rolls $16
(originally issued Universal 302037 and U. S. Music 66186) - sheet music for Bon Ton Cakewalk included with roll)

Pork & Beans Rag was reprinted in Max Morath's Giants of Ragtime folio, but Bon Tom Cakewalk has not appeared in a contemporary folio. These are arranged rolls of two of Roberts' most popular compositions, and neither has been available for quite some time.

137288 That Eccentric Rag and Sapho Rag (J. Russel Robinson) $16
arranged rolls (originally issued Connorized 3032 and QRS 30781)
- sheet music to Eccentric Rag included with roll

J. Russel Robinson : We're long overdue in having access to these fine Robinson rags: That Eccentric Rag hasn't been available to the public since Schwimmer recut it from U. S. Music a few years ago, and Sapho Rag hasn't been available since Larry Givens and AMR did it a number of years ago! That Eccentric Rag was published in 1912 but the sheet has not been reprinted, hence its inclusion here. This roll really takes off with the "eccentricities" and adds a lot to the published score! Sapho Rag is an outstanding rag (read the write-up in Rags and Ragtime) and a real barn-burner. It was also Robinson's first rag, published in 1909 by John Stark and reprinted in Jasen / Dover's Ragtime Gems folio.

137019 Ragtime Oriole (James Scott) $13
played by Steve Williams (originally issued on Artempo 1898)

Jasen & Tichenor describe this rag very well and point out tricks in the "A" section eluding to the Novelty rag style - already in 1911! Williams takes every repeat and follows the printed score closely, but adds just the right amount of his own embellishments to make this an excellent hand-played roll. A fine, lilting rag classic by one of the masters.

137313 Great Scott Rag and Kansas City Rag (James Scott) $16 This roll is currently out of stock
arranged rolls (originally issued on QRS 31138 and QRS 30566)

These are two of James Scott's earlier rags, published in 1907 and 1909. Rags and Ragtime documents many interesting devices in Great Scott Rag; it is on of his best-known rags and a lot of fun to play. Kansas City Rag has not been recut since Hollywood Vintage did so in the 1970's. It is another fine rag whose most significant feature (historically) is the use of an interesting bass line in the C section, with independence from the octave-chord ragtime bass pattern. Scott DeVeaux, in his Smithsonian book on Scott, also mentions the "bluesy-ness" of the break in measures 13 & 14 of the A section.

137357 Ragtime Oriole (James Scott) played by William Arlington $16
and Ole Miss Rag (W. C. Handy) played by Scott Joplin
(originally issued on Connorized 10311 and 10304 / June 1916)

137358 Grace And Beauty Rag (James Scott) played by William Arlington $16
(originally issued on Connorized 20460 / ca. 1916)
and Quality Rag (James Scott) played by William Arlington
(originally issued on Connorized 20461 / ca. 1916)

Here are some very special, early rags. Ole Miss Rag is one of the 5 know Joplin hand-played rolls on the Connorized label (see the Scott Joplin section for more information). The remaining 3 tunes on these 2 "double" recuts are all classic James Scott rags played by William Arlington from Connorized rolls, of the same vintage as Joplin's famous hand-played rolls. Arlington has a unique style that embellishes Scott's rags nicely without overdoing it. These are lively and fun arrangements - Grace And Beauty Rag is particularly enjoyable. Quality Rag is simply a great rag!

137082 That Demon Rag (Russell Smith) $13 This roll is currently out of stock
arranged roll (originally issued on Connorized 3158)

Russell Smith was a Black composer from Indianapolis who is well-known among the Indiana school of rag composers. This Connorized roll features an excellent arrangement and unusual tricks in the bass: the typical quarter-note octaves are mostly replaced with a sixteenth and dotted eighth which gives it a very funky feeling. The sheet music with its unusual cover was reprinted in the Dover folio "Ragtime Rarities". You can see a photo of Smith as he appeared with Noble Sissle in "Chocolate Dandies" in 1924 (see page 12 of the excellent liner note booklet to the "Indiana Ragtime" LP).

137289 Mow 'Em Down (Straight & Rube Bennett) $13 This roll is currently out of stock
played by the Composer Charley Straight (original Imperial 511940 and Harmony 110733)

Here is another fine hand-played Charley Straight novelty rag. This recut is taken from a roll on the Harmony label, which was a private label Imperial issued for Montgomery Wards stores. This is again one of the last of the great unpublished composer-played piano rolls to make its appearance on BluesTone, as documented in John Hasse's excellent book Ragtime (page 99).

137334 Rufenreddy played by the composer Charley Straight $13
(originally issued on Imperial 511360)

137335 Sweet Pickin's played by the composer Charley Straight $13
(originally issued on Imperial 510740)

These are two choice Charley Straight compositions which were both issued in 1917 but not copyrighted until some time after. Straight's rolls are the best novelty rag piano rolls, in my opinion. Rufenreddy is probably my favorite of these two, but Sweet Pickin's is very good too and quite scarce.

137360 Lazy Bones played by the composer Charley Straight $13 This roll is currently out of stock
(originally issued on QRS 100500 / November 1916)

Here is another fine novelty rag from Charley Straight. Lazy Bones was never published or copyrighted, but was issued in 1916. It features a surprising number of choruses with new inventions along the way, and a very snappy syncopated style.

137099 Bucksnort Stomp (Trebor Tichenor) $16
hand-played by the composer Trebor Tichenor
(original issue / Front Porch 004 / recorded June 9, 1989 in St. Louis, MO)

I doubt that there is a serious roll collector or ragtime buff out there who doesn't know who Trebor is. He has collected, documented, performed, and written rags for most of his life, with a special emphasis on folk ragtime. This rag has not been published or copyrighted, and you'll be impressed hearing it as a piano solo. Trebor plays his composition in a wonderfully relaxed, comfortable style which will be quite apparent from the first time you hear it. Ask about the title sometime -- it's a great story.

137180 Hickory Smoked Rag (Trebor Tichenor) $16
hand-played by the composer Trebor Tichenor
(original issue / Front Porch 004 / recorded June 15, 1990 in St. Louis, MO)

Last but certainly not least I am proud to offer my third new roll featuring my (our!) friend Trebor Tichenor playing one of his good, down-home Missouri folk rags. It is a privilege to hear Trebor on your own piano; his style lends itself well to piano rolls, and he has been underrecorded in all formats -- we need more Trebor Tichenor recordings! This was recorded at Trebor's home in the summer of 1990 shortly after the Scott Joplin Festival in Sedalia.

137293 Ozark Rag (Trebor Tichenor) $16
hand-played by the composer Trebor Tichenor
(original issue / Front Porch 028 / recorded November 1994 in Roseville, CA)

This roll was produced for the 1996 AMICA convention in St. Louis, and came from MIDI recordings made by Richard Riley at his PianoMania recording piano. Trebor Tichenor plays one of his fine, Missouri folk style rags here. This recording was made during the sessions for his CD on the Stomp Off label.

137118 Ragtime in the Hollow (Trebor Tichenor) $16
hand-played by the composer Trebor Tichenor
(original issue / Front Porch 008 / recorded June 15, 1990 in St. Louis, MO)

Trebor recorded this composition on his Dirty Shame LP (King of Folk Ragtime) and also performed it last Summer for piano roll issue. He composed it around a folk tune he had learned in 1960 from an 80-year-old woman who knew it as a child in St Louis. In her day it was known under the dubious name "The Nigger Two-Step". If you haven't heard Ragtime in the Hollow, it is a very lively piece and a favorite among Trebor's compositions.

137290 Bowery Buck and St. Louis Rag (Tom Turpin) $16
arranged rolls (originally issued on U. S. Music 65635 and Melographic 0832)

Here are two great ragtime classics from vintage originals. I'm not going to try to tell you anything new about these; they are two of Turpin's fine, early rags and among the most essential of basic piano rags. You can read some very interesting details about each title in Rags and Ragtime. Bowery Buck has been recut a number of times from this fine U. S. Music original, and St. Louis Rag was recut from this delightful Melographic roll once a long time ago by PianoRecord. Be sure to look for Richard Riley's great new Ragtime Primer CD which includes Turpin's Harlem Rag and many other milestones from all periods of ragtime history.

137033 Jamaica Jinger Rag and Hold Up Rag (Egbert van Alstyne) $16
played by the Composer Egbert Van Alstyne (orig. QRS 100036 and QRS 100038)

Egbert Van Alstyne composed a number of very good rags, and played several of them for the QRS Autograph roll series, just as the hand-played roll cutting process went commercial in 1912. Jamaica Jinger is listed in Rags and Ragtime by virtue of the fact that Van Alstyne slows the piece way down for the final section of this roll. Hold Up Rag is a ragtime song composed in 1910 which creates its "sinister" mood using a minor key in the "A" section. These rolls have a bit of a pleasant "jerky" feel to them like you might expect from a ride in a Model "T" Ford. This doesn't necessarily detract from the quality of the music, it just means you can tell the difference from other, later hand-played rolls. It is a treat to hear how the composer was playing these tunes in 1912!

137315 Cheese and Crackers (Egbert van Alstyne) $16
and That Sneaky Creepy Tune (Egbert van Alstyne)
played by the Composer Egbert Van Alstyne (orig. QRS 100261 and QRS 200284)

Egbert van Alstyne : The final ragtime recut for this list is a lively and exciting pair of tunes played by their composer Egbert van Alstyne. Cheese and Crackers is a driving, up-tempo piece that should have been titled Beehive Rag; this is a killer tune that shouldn't be missed! Sneaky Creepy comes from a very scarce original from the earliest days of QRS Autograph rolls (1912) and is also a fun, interesting performance. Egbert plays it in characteristic form as he did his Jamaica Jinger roll, with its slowed-down final strain. Tracy Doyle has done extensive research on van Alstyne, and I am told will be publishing her findings this year in a 2-part series on the man and his rags in the Maple Leaf Club's newsletter The Rag Times. Watch for it!

137030 Mashed Potatoes (Calvin Lee Woolsey) arranged roll $13 This roll is currently out of stock
(originally issued on QRS 31118)

This is may be the finest folk rag I've heard from the pre-Joplin era. There are enough significant details that Jasen & Tichenor spent the better part of a full page describing it in Rags and Ragtime (see page 63). However, their description doesn't point out how infectious Woolsey's melodies are, and how appealing the entire piece is, once you string together the four sections with all of their individual strengths. This is my favorite of several fine Woolsey compositions.