Pardon My Rags

An unexpected summertime pleasure has been Alexander Peskanov performing Scott Joplin piano rags. The CD was given to me for Christmas by a thoughtful family member. It's one of those albums that I'd never think to buy myself, and yet is full of interest and new discoveries.

Discovery, principally, of the work of Joplin beyond the classic "Maple Leaf Rag"/"The Entertainer"/"The Easy Winners", (tunes from which almost all life has been drained through endless hours spent with that middle-aged lady piano teacher with the horn-rimmed spectacles who inhabits so many of our childhoods).

There is the ghost of a habanera rhythm lurking deep in Solace. One thinks even of the late Rubén González and the Buena Vista Social Club... and I'm sure Heliotrope Bouquet sends me spam every week trying to sell me Cialis and rolex watches at unbelievable prices.

Time, therefore for some 1907 Scott Joplin that moves at a more measured, less frenetic pace than his most familiar work.

Alexander Peskanov - Heliotrope Bouquet: 'A Slow Drag Two-Step'
Alexander Peskanov - Solace: 'A Mexican Serenade'
From Scott Joplin Piano Rags: Naxos 8.559114 [Buy]

(Another Summer Pleasure - Campari Vine Tomatos - Yum!)