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Ragtime? Yes, it’s Ragtime! It has been a
hundred years since Ragtime burst onto the musical scene. As we approach the beginning of
a new century, our subconscious curiously calls forth a variety of responses to the
moment. We tap our heel to the relentless beat of the left hand. Even when the machine
stops, your head keeps rocking to the rhythm. Meanwhile, the right hand artfully stumbles,
spins, and syncopates, improving as it improvises; improvising as it improves.
Enter the saxophone. On this disc you have popular
music wedded to one of the century’s favourite instruments. The saxophone quartet
brings a genuine ragtime spirit to the party. Here we have a street-smart, down-and-dirty,
wailing music machine capable of spinning out all the right nuances of the idiom.
Ragtime and saxophones make for a quality experience
worthy of hours of listening enjoyment.
Ragtime for Rent features 17 lively
arrangements in over 45 minutes of music composed by Joplin, Turpin, Bowman, Botsford,
Cobb, and Barroll, as well as a terrific new arrangement of Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag by
Canadian arranger Eddie Graf, and an original composition by world-renowned Ragtimist: Bob
Milne. Cover art is taken from an original painting in oil by Canadian artist
John
C. Knapton, local to Elora, Ontario.
Website: www.knaptonart.ca.
The Royal City Saxophone Quartet is a professional ensemble based in
Guelph, Ontario performing in a variety of venues across North America since 1991.
Ragtime for Rent is available for sale and distribution at the
address below at the suggested retail price of $16.99 USD.
Sample tracks from the CD in MP3 format:
Maple Leaf Rag
| Bassoons For Rent |
12th Street Rag
The Piggly
Wiggle | The Easy Winners
What's on the CD
Ragtime for Rent has recently
been featured on:
Disc Drive with Jurgen Gothe on CBC Radio 2 FM (94.1 FM) and
Pot Pourri with Terry Campbell on Classical 96 FM (CFMX 96.3 and 103.1 FM),
North America's Number One Classical Music Station
Music for the Mind with Jennifer
Gordon on CFRU FM (93.3 FM), Campus Radio, University of Guelph
The Jazz Show with Ted O'Reilly on CJRT FM (91.1 FM),
Classical and Jazz Fine Arts Radio in Toronto
National Public Radio in the United States NPR Online
Reviews about Ragtime for Rent
"This is certainly one of the best saxophone quartets in Canada. Excellent
spirit, dynamics, and great feeling. First Class. I loved it!" -- Paul Brodie, Order of Canada
* |
Click
here to read the profile and review of the RCSQ and their CD Ragtime for Rent
in the September/October issue of Saxophone Journal. |
I Defy You to Sit Still When You Hear this
Joyful CD, July 20, 2004
Reviewer: J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA)
I'd come to know the playing of the Royal City Saxophone
Quartet from their latest release, 'Smiles
and Chuckles,' which reproduced the music of the early
20th-century pioneers of pop saxophone playing, The Brown
Brothers, a musical family from Ontario.
This group, also from Ontario, are worthy successors.
I urge you to get the 'Smiles and Chuckles' CD for its historical
value; it contains arrangements of early 20th-century hits played
in the style of the day.
This disc is similar except that some modern stuff gets snuck
in - fine by me! - amidst the earlier rags
included here. Things like 'Bassoons for Rent',
co-written by RCSQ bari player, Ernie Kalwa. And something called
'Pan Am Rag.' But the old favorites are here, too:
12th Street Rag, Pineapple Rag (my own
favorite - I can't tell you how many times I've been ask
to play it [on the piano] at parties over the years), Maple Leaf
Rag, and so on.
This group is simply sensational and if, like me, you love the
sound of saxes playing this kind of music, what are you waiting
for? The only drawback is the short timing -
46:05 - because you want the music to go on. That's
easy, just put it on repeat!
Scott Morrison (reproduced from Amazon.com
with permisson) |
January 15, 1998 15.48 EST Entertainment
and culture MUSIC-Review code:3
By The Canadian Press
The Royal City Saxophone Quartet - Ragtime
for Rent (Independent)
If it wasn't for Robert Redford and Paul Newman
in a movie called The Sting, ragtime might exist only as a historical curiosity in the
jazz world. With a soundtrack based on Scott Joplin's classic turn-of-the-century
rags, the 1973 film gave new life to one of the earliest forms of popular music. The
Royal City Saxophone Quartet, based in Guelph, Ont., is helping to keep it alive.
Their first CD, the independently released Ragtime For Rent, is a delightful collection of
famous and obscure rags, recorded at a surprisingly high level of quality for a
self-produced project. The stripped-down, four-sax arrangements are pleasantly
crisp. Ernie Kalwa, Tim Moher, Bradley Moggach and Peter Wendell are somehow able to
create a sound that seems much bigger, richer than one would expect from a wind quartet.
With some well-known Joplin numbers included -- the Maple Leaf Rag and The
Entertainer among them -- the disc has immediate appeal. But the real treats are the
lesser-known songs. The quartet's performance of classical composer Claude Debussy's Le
Petit Noir is excellent, as is their version of The Russian Rag by George Cobb. In
this 17-song collection, the quartet has captured ragtime's passion, bottled it and shot
it out through the barrels of their instruments. Whether through raw talent or hard
work, this little-known group has come up with a world class effort on their first
try. (Reviewed by Andrew Flynn, CP)
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"The playing is marvelous, and the arrangements are imaginative and fun!"
-- Dr. Bruce Vermazen, Professor, University of California at Berkeley,
Author of "The Six Brown Brothers"
"Rich with talent…noble and unorthodox...elegant variation,
superb intonation and inflection. This is right down your alley!" -- The
Mississippi Rag
"A happy treat! Now the jubilant sound of the "raggy
reeds" can march right into your living room. You gotta love this sound -- it's
fun!" -- Jack Rummel, The Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation
"Yes! Bravo! Excellente! Smashing!
Maestroes! Let's start it over and play it again! It's great!"
-- Bob Milne, Ragtimist
"Excellent CD -
non stop fun from start to finish. Very smooth. A very popular CD around the radio
station."
-- Jennifer Gordon, Host, Music for the Mind, CFRU-FM
"What a wonderful sound! I love the RCSQ because of
their fresh ideas and their smooth music!"
-- Hartmut Domr'se, Germany, saxophone student and one of the best fans of the RCSQ
Submit your own review...
How to Order...
Order it from Ragtime Express
Order it from Dorn Publications
To order a copy of the CD by mail, send a Certified Check,
Cashier's Check, or International Postal Money Order
in US funds for $16.99 which includes applicable taxes and shipping to:
The Royal City Saxophone Quartet
P.O.
Box 2896
Elora, Ontario N0B 1S0
CANADA
Phone & Fax: 519-846-9663
U.S. Money-Orders should be purchased through your local 7-11 store.
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