More American Classics (NMSR-2, released on July 19, 2011) This CD is the second in a series by the Neighborhood Music School's Faculty Ragtime Ensemble, with material from concerts between 2008 and 2011. The instrumentation is violin, cello, flute/recorder, clarinet, piano and tuba. The arrangements are all my own. The 2009 concert theme was "Floral Rags", the 2010 theme was "Ragtime Places", and in 2011 we celebrated the school’s 100th anniversary by focusing on rags composed around 1911. Each of those performances included some pieces that were already on our first CD, along with new arrangements included here. The curious title of our opening number comes from a toy that was popular in 1911. As illustrated on the CD itself, it was an ornate tin can containing a rubber band and a weight arranged so that it would come back when rolled across a floor. My tuba and I first encountered Karl King’s "Kentucky Sunrise" as a freshman in high school. About 15 years later I had another shot at it for a week with the Ringling Brothers in the old New Haven Arena. Lovers of ragtime will of course be familiar with most of the composers represented here such as Joplin, Lamb, and Scott, but who knew that the influence of this music extended even to John Philip Sousa and Hoagy Carmichael? I am grateful to the Neighborhood Music School for supporting this ragtime project for the past nine years, and to Phil Hovey for his excellent photography. To download a sample track in MP3 format click on "Russian Rag" in the tune list below: -Art Hovey-

Cum Bac Rag . . . . . . . . Charles F. Johnson (1911)
Red Rose Rag . . . . P.Wenrich & A. Gumble (1911)
Pleasant Moments . . . . . . . . . . Scott Joplin (1909)
Felicity Rag . . . . . . . . . . . . Joplin & Hayden (1911)
Silver Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percy Wenrich (1910)
Champagne Rag . . . . . . . . . Joseph F. Lamb (1910)
Ragtime Oriole . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Scott (1911)
Saint Louis Tickle . . . . . . . . Theron Bennett (1904)
Kentucky Sunrise . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karl King (1919)
Wall Street Rag . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scott Joplin (1909)
Manhattan Rag . . . . . . . . Hoagy Carmichael (1929)
At A Georgia Camp Meeting . . . Kerry Mills (1897)
Gladiolus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scott Joplin (1907)
Sunflower Slow Drag . . . . Joplin & Hayden (1901)
Heliotrope Bouquet . . . . . Joplin & Chauvin (1907)
Bethena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scott Joplin (1905)
Elite Syncopations . . . . . . . . . . . Scott Joplin (1902)
Pastime Rag Number 3 . . . . Artie Matthews (1916)
With Pleasure . . . . . . . . . John Philip Sousa (1912)
Russian Rag . . . . . . . . . . George L. Cobb (1918)