Scott Joplin Music

Jazz arranger and stride pianist Dick Hyman has captured the essence of Scott Joplin, playing such classics as "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer," as well as many lesser known but still highly enjoyable tunes. Just like Joplin would say never play a rag too fast, Hyman plays at the perfect tempo, never too fast. Hyman proves not only to be a fine stride painist but a superb ragtime painist. Although there is no improvisation here, ragtime is completely written out, there is plenty of syncopation and joyous sounds here to keep the jazz collector happy. this CD is highly recomended as a great introduction to the music of Scott Joplin and the playing of Dick Hyman.

Also try Dick Hyman's tribute CD to Fats Waller. And if you like Ragtime don't miss out on the incredible Paragon Ragtime Orchestra which re-creates bands like Arthur Pryor's Orchestra from the ragtime era.

Don't get me wrong. Dick Hyman is really great in what he's doing. The pieces are brilliantly performed. But it's not my taste. He's playing 100s of staccatos where Scott Joplin never wrote a point on his sheets thus taking the drive off the songs. Songs and parts of songs that should sound strong just sound way too "dolce". All in all the whole cd is too soft and too slow. Yes, Scott Joplin said never play Ragtime too fast. But songs like the Entertainer or Elite Syncopations should in my opinion be played "faster" to have a drive. I used to play the songs myself. It's just more fun when you play them faster and louder - with more energy.

This cd is for you when you like quiet and mellow music and like to drink tea while listening to it.
If you like barrelhouse music - what ragtime is supposed to be - then buy another cd like "the Sting" soundtrack or Scott Joplin played by Richard Zimmerman.

Let's clear up something here that Amazon and LaserLight have not--this disc DOES NOT contain the complete works of Scott Joplin. This is just one disc from a set of five that LaserLight put out containing the complete published piano music of Scott Joplin played by Richard Zimmerman. Unfortunately, LaserLight has not numbered the five discs in the set, so each one purports to contain the "complete" works. Very poor organization. (Besides Joplin wrote more than piano music... no Joplin set should be considered "complete" without a full recording of his opera "Treemonisha.")

The playing on this disc is fairly good-I've seen Richard Zimmerman perform in person and he's certainly capable of playing ragtime well-but by no means are the recordings here the best interpretation of Joplin's music. Sometimes I feel Zimmerman plays too fast, at other times it sounds jerky, and at other times wrong notes are painfully obvious. Additionally, the sound quality varies from track to track, with some being marred by heavy tape hiss or distortion. These were originally recorded for budget LP's label back in the 1970s (I've seen them on Olympic and Murray Hill labels) and LaserLight has not done much to improve the sound quality. The music's there, and for casual listening on a boombox or car stereo, one might not notice the technical flaws, but on a good stereo system, they significantly detract from the overall listening experience.

If you're in the market for Joplin's music, you'd do yourself a favor to ignore this disc (even if the price is inviting) and invest in a better set like Joshua Rifkin's Joplin CD or William Albright's Joplin 2-CD set. Pianist Scott Kirby is currently releasing a complete Joplin set in four volumes, and I'd highly recommened looking into getting those before buying this disc.

A CD purporting to be Joplin's complete works would certainly have more than 14 tracks. Instead try "The Complete Piano Music Of Scott Joplin," ASIN B000003QWN; four disks containing 52 tracks! I think this would be far more likely to be his "complete works" though I think even this one must be leaving out some of the compositions of this prolific ragtime composer. I know for a fact 14 songs wouldn't be his complete... anything! If you just want an introduction to his music, this CD may be all the Joplin you need, but be sure to rub out the word "complete" when your CD arrives. :)

A CD purporting to be Joplin's complete works would certainly have more than 14 tracks. Instead try "The Complete Piano Music Of Scott Joplin," AISN B000003QWN; four disks containing 52 tracks! I think this would be far more likely to be his "complete works" though I think even this one must be leaving out some of the compositions of this prolific ragtime composer. I know for a fact 14 songs wouldn't be his complete... anything! If you just want an introduction to his music, this CD may be all the Joplin you need, but be sure to rub out the word "complete" when your CD arrives. :)