In 2006, I revived
the dormant RELIANCE piano roll brand to issue occasional
high-quality reissues of historically important rolls.
For more about the original Reliance company, which operated in New
Zealand in the 1920-1930 period,
click here.
James P. Johnson (1894-1955), often known as the 'Father of Stride
Piano', was one of the first black artists to commit his playing to
piano roll -
his first roll recordings being issued in May 1917.
One of Johnson's biggest early hits was 'Caprice Rag', sometimes
titled 'A Unique Musical Conception'. He recorded this on roll no
less
than 3 times in 1917 - the first issued by The Aeolian Company of
New York in May, the second by the Standard Music Company of New
Jersey
in July. Both of these rolls have been recorded on LP and CD, and
also recut.
The third, and most rare, version was issued in September 1917 by
Bennett & White, Inc. on their 'Artempo' label. Johnson probably
stopped
by their studios in August, since it was already being promoted as
an upcoming release in the 'Music Trade Review' magazine of August
25th, 1917.
It is this version which we present for you - from the only known
copy of the original roll. As you'll hear, this take contains some
interesting
rhythmic and melodic subtleties that are not heard in any other
version.
Using the most up to date techniques, the roll has been scanned, the
original punch matrix recovered, and copied by the most accurate
perforating machines in the business to offer you a chance to own a
copy of this ultra-rare roll.
A big thanks to Anthony Robinson for his technical work recovering
the punch matrix - ensuring our copies are perfect reproductions.
Also
thanks to Erik York for generously loaning his copy of the original
roll to be scanned and copied. The hobby needs more collectors like
Erik.
Described by historian Dave
Jasen as 'an anomaly amongst eccentrics', Leslie Crawford Copeland
(1887-1942) had a penchant for edible flowers
(perhaps to aid recovery from his legendary imbibing) and dressing
as a cowboy whilst spinning 'outrageous folktales'. One of the key
members of Lew Dockstader's famous minstrel troupe early in his
life, Copeland's unique compositional and performance style is
described
in Jasen and Tichenor's 'Rags And Ragtime' as being 'in the archaic
style of the original itinerants of fifteen years earlier... his
style is decidedly that
of the earliest in ragtime's history'.
This roll of 'Texas Blues' is the rarest of Copeland's hand-played
rolls, and is presented here for the first time, copied from the
only known
original. The giant Aeolian Company released it in April 1916, and
promoted it as 'The original Texas Blues played in an original way.
Copeland's nimble fingers put "Pep" into this trot".
It presents Copeland's idiosyncratic style very well. The Uni-Record
rolls are amongst the most faithful to what the artist played, aided
by their
extremely fine perforator punch advance settings (428 rows per foot
for this particular roll). It's our pleasure to give you a chance to
own a copy
of this ultra-rare roll, produced using the most accurate
perforating machines in the business and up-to-date optical scanning
techniques.
Reliance #200
Pleasant Moments - Ragtime Waltz (Scott Joplin)
(Originally Connorized Guaranteed Hand Played Record #103219, issued
1916) Played by the Composer, Scott Joplin $12 (SOLD OUT)
I was lucky
enough to discover this historically priceless roll in August 2005.
Scott Joplin, the 'King of Ragtime', recorded only seven piano
rolls, six for the Connorized company and one for Aeolian Uni-Record.
Multiple copies of all the other rolls exist, but 'Pleasant Moments'
was considered lost for decades.
The performance is close to the published score, but includes some
embellishments in the form of treble arpeggios that are similar to
those in the score of Joplin's other ragtime waltz, 'Bethena'. There
is also a audibly obvious mistake (a note in the treble that should
be flatted, but isn't) which recurs throughout the roll. The
Connorized rolls of this era also feature sustain perforations that
may not operate the later, 1920's era player pianos. For historical
accuracy, I recut two different versions of the roll - this is the
unedited version, with the mistakes and sustain pedals left
unaltered.
Reliance #201
Pleasant Moments - Ragtime Waltz (Scott Joplin)
EDITED VERSION
(Originally Connorized Guaranteed Hand Played Record #103219, issued
1916) Played by the Composer, Scott Joplin $12 (SOLD OUT)
See the notes for
Reliance #200 for more information about this roll. This version,
Reliance #202, is the edited version, with the musical errors
corrected and sustain pedal altered to operate on all types of
player piano.
NEW
RELEASES FOR 2010
