MEG GRAF: Eatin' Time -- A Ragtime Feast

Meg Graf

Eatin' Time -- A Ragtime Feast

© 2003 Meg Graf (829757483726)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

SPECIAL: 10% discount if you buy more than one copy of it today!

(About MP3 downloads at CD Baby)

Serving up a banquet of ragtime tunes, familiar and obscure: bon appetit.

notes

I got the idea for "Eatin' Time" while recording another album: "Cookin' with Calamity," released by Calamity Jazz. That album features "Sugar," "There ain't no Sweet Man worth the Salt of my Tears," and "Hot Tamale Man." I had just learned Irene Cozad's ragtime composition titled "Eatin' Time," and began noticing the many tunes with food as their theme.



The 22 tunes on this album are about food, and I found many more, so if I ever want to issue a second volume with a food theme, there is no lack of material!



On the album, you will hear piano on all the tracks: that's

me. You will also hear, on some tracks, bass sax, flute, piccolo, and fiddle -- not all the time, and not the same combination on every tune. That's me, too, thanks to recording technology!



"Pineapple Rag" is a 2-piano, 4-hands duet played by Lorraine Wadsworth and me. Dixieland jazz enthusiasts will recognize Lorraine as the mother of Scott Wadsworth, trombone-playing boy wonder of the former Jazz Minors. "Sweet Pickles" features Vicki Cox on trumpet, and you will hear her washboard antics on "Chicken Chowder" and "Wild

Cherries." Vicki Cox leads "Calamity Jazz," a Dixieland band based in Eugene, Oregon, and plays trumpet for Oregon Jazz Band.



Why a ragtime album? I am fascinated by this music for its evocative, creative, expressive strains. The composers came from all walks of life: music teachers, medical students, circus clowns, conservatory professors, concert musicians, vaudeville performers, street musicians, sheltered young ladies, song-and-dance men... The music knew no racial or gender barriers, and its history is multifaceted and thought-provoking.



Ragtime's heydey was 1890-1930, and is unique to this

country. While many ragtime performers are pianists, the genre celebrated music as a social activity, and was performed by ensembles of widely varying instrumentation.

The music was played by harp and fiddle, by mandolin bands, string bands, jug bands, string ensembles, orchestras large and small, banjo bands...



I grew up playing classical and religious music, and now play many styles: ragtime, Dixieland, old- time country, folk, gospel, swing, big band... I am an avid researcher of ragtime, and delight in arranging tunes for whatever instrumentation is wanted.

reviews

Please log in to review this album.

  • We love "Eatin' Time -- A Ragtime Feast"!
    author: cloud nine and cloud seven

    Internet Music Radio, "Gone Fishing for Blue Skies", loves the world of Meg Graf.

  • Energetic ragtime! - akin to Dixieland
    author: Edouard Lagache

    While this is truly in the ragtime tradition, these selections are more upbeat and energetic than the well known rags of Scott Joplin. Meg Graf's choice of instruments gives these pieces a whole new feel, closer to Dixieland and traditional early Jazz. The result is truly a delight and a unique listening experience!

  • Food for the soul served very well!
    author: Ellis Carter

    Some well known and some not so well known titles relating to ragtime music. The recording is a fun recording played by musicians who seem to love doing what they do...and they do it well!

  • A Musical Banquet Fit For A King
    author: Noel Seeley

    I was introduced to Ragtime in the '60's when someone gave me a Joann Castle LP. I have loved the genre ever since, but not until two years ago while at the West Coast Ragtime Festival did I realize how much variety there was to it. I thought I'd heard it all until I heard "Eatin' Time". This is inovative. The bass sax is so refreshing! The selections are presented like a royal banquet. Dig in!

  • Unheard of, and thus unheard ragtime chamber music!
    author: Lee Doss

    Listening to ragtime is like revisiting the happiest scenes of childhood. It glides serenely along, loaded with pristine syncopation... Ragtime was popularized by the sheet music publishing firms, which recognized two markets: solo piano and arrangements for full orchestra. The last few notes at either end of the piano keyboard tend to lose the timbre characteristic of its midrange. Meg has dubbed in the bass sax to bolster the lower range, and uses flute, piccolo or fiddle in the high range. The net effect is a ragtime trio. We witness the birth of Chamber Ragtime. This album is an icon!

  • dancing about!
    author: Jo. C

    I put the CD on the player, and within minutes, found myself dancing around the room! Listening to it brings an instant smile to my face.

email

Please log in to email this artist.