• Tracks

Pianist Bryan Wright plays the classic ragtime of Scott Joplin and his contemporaries with a "warmth that is often missing in other ragtime recordings" (Jack Rummel, Ragtime Music Reviews). Though Joplin has been widely lauded as the "King of Ragtime Composers," the ragtime era was rich with gifted composers writing tuneful syncopated melodies to satisfy the public's demand for ragtime. In addition to such Joplin standards as "Maple Leaf Rag," "Bethena," "Magnetic Rag," and "Heliotrope Bouquet," this disc features other delights ranging from May Aufderheide's exciting "The Thriller!" to Arthur Marshall's bluesy "Ham And!" to Joseph Lamb's Chopin-inspired "Ragtime Nightingale" to Harry Jentes's quirky vaudeville showpieces "Smiles and Kisses (A Syncopated Classic)" and "Bantam Step." In more than an hour of music that is hauntingly beautiful one moment and full of fire and pep the next, let Bryan Wright take you on a musical tour of the Ragtime Era!