Two of ragtime's hottest performers turn mellow on this exquisite collection of ragtime from the 1890s to the present, including original compositions by the artists themselves.

18 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Ragtime, EASY LISTENING: Background Music



Details:
If youâre expecting the rip-roaring, two-piano arrangements Bostick and Brier created for âDualing at the McCoys,â youâre in for a pleasant surprise. âMissing You at the McCoysâ is mellow, mellow, mellow -- a reflective collection of new and old ragtime plus other delights best suited for easing a workday commute or soothing a troubled soul.

The CD opens with Nanâs solo performance of her exquisite âThat Missing You Rag,â composed in memory of Phil McCoy in whose home this CD was recorded. Next Tom and Nan take a relaxed stroll with âOriginal Ragsâ (1899) â the first published ragtime composition by the King of Ragtime, Scott Joplin. Women composers are well represented with Nanâs interpretation of Louis Gustinâs âX-N-Tric Ragâ and the duoâs fun renditions of âSnowball, â âLindy,â and âChicken Chowder.â Throughout, Nan provides lyrical solo interpretations of the melodious compositions of her own great âUncle Charlieâ (Charles N. Daniels) including his âInnocence Valse Lente,â a moving concert piece with history attached--all explained in Nanâs superb liner notes.

Still the dynamic duo couldn't resist rollicking away on âDill Pickles,â ragging the heck out of a parlor piece called âWoodland Dove,â and happily bouncing through âSutter Creek Strut,â Gil Liebyâs contemporary tribute to ragtime in Californiaâs Mother Lode. Original compositions by Nan and Tom bring this collection up to modern times. Then to wake you up from your ragtime reverie, the CD ends with the duoâs hot rendition of Nanâs âBean Whistle Ragâ followed by a previously unreleased 1974 recording of âBean Whistleâ orchestrated on Moog synthesizers. Not to be missed!

Californiaâs Nan Bostick and Tom Brier enthrall their audiences with their delightful ragtime antics and incomparable two piano arrangements, always adding a little history to the toe-tapping. Both are accomplished composers and recording artists and have performed at festivals throughout the country, including the Scott Joplin and Blind Boone Festivals in Missouri. They are mainstays at the Sutter Creek and West Coast (Sacramento) Ragtime Festivals, the Ragtime Corner at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, plus RagFest in Fullerton, CA.

Nan Bostick, of Menlo Park, CA, is the grandniece and biographer of Charles. N. Daniels. A dedicated researcher and historian, Nan is a frequent contributor to vintage music publications and her musical seminars and performances are warmly received wherever she travels. Nan co-founded the Mother Lode Ragtime Society and served on the board of the West Coast Ragtime Society. She continues to coordinate the seminars at the West Coast Ragtime Festival in Sacramento. She recently retired from a career as a curriculum writer and educator and a Music Together® teacher for babies newborn to 4.

Tom Brier is a favorite at West Coast ragtime events and has produced several of his own CDs. An avid sheet music collector, Tom is noted for performing and popularizing extremely rare but wonderful rags. Tom caught the ragtime bug when his parents purchased a Schubert mechanical player. At 4 he was picking out tunes he heard from the piano rolls. By 11 he had composed nearly a dozen rags. His current count is somewhere around 170 ragtime compositions, many originating on napkins in the lunchroom at the office where Tom works as a computer programmer for the County of Sacramento, CA.