march 7, 2013 (11)
1
The acclaimed Tulsa pi- anist Donald Ryan, who began playing at the age of three in his native Trinidad, grew up aware of ragtime music. He just didn't play it. That all changed in the early 1970s, with a new awareness of that turn-of-the-century style brought about by the runaway success of the 1973 film The Sting, a period piece propelled by the music of rag- time composer-musician Scott Joplin. Suddenly, Ryan - a working pianist -- found him- self peppered with requests for the movie's Joplin-penned theme, "The Entertainer." "So I learned it," he re- calls. "Then I bought a book of Joplin rags, an anthology, which I still have, and I learned a couple of other pieces. After that Rod Till- man, the founder of the Rag- time for Tulsa Foundation, asked me to be on its board, and I said, `sure.' That was when I started getting more involved with playing it and learning it." Since then, Ryan has be- come one of the premier per- formers of ragtime in the world, playing several times at the Scott Joplin Festival in Joplin's hometown of Sedalia, Mo, and, in 2006, serving as artist in residence for the Scott Joplin Interna- tional Ragtime Foundation, the same year he was in- ducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Ryan's solo-piano show Sunday will include selections written by the composers he calls "the big three of classic ragtime," Joplin, James Scott, and Joseph Lamb. "Of the three, James Scott - from his writing - was more of a natural piano player," notes Ryan. "His stuff just kind of ripples out. It's scintil- lating, and very pianistic, whereas Joplin's is well- crafted, but it doesn't always flow as easily from the fingers. "Charles Lamb is the one who sounds the most pol- ished. He was from New Jer- sey. He was white. And Joplin liked his stuff. He complimented Lamb when he said one of the rags Lamb played for him was `a real Negro rag.' But Lamb's influ- ences were not just black or white or Midwestern. He was very influenced by that melting pot of cultures in [turn-of-the-century] New Jersey. Without reservation, my favorite rag of his is called `Bohemia.' It sounds like Hungarian music. If you take away the rag aspect of it, it sounds like it could've been composed by Brahms or Dvorak." In addition to selections by those three giants of the genre, Ryan intends to per- form some examples of what came to be known as "nov- elty rags" at Sunday's show. Among them will be tunes from a musician named Zez Confrey, whose 1921 compo- sition "Kitten on the Keys" is one of the best known of the novelty rags. "The novelty rags were written by guys who'd had piano lessons, and they used a lot of impressionism," he explains. "There's a lot of florid writing; it just goes faster. Think tap-dancing, and that's the tempo of a nov- elty rag. By and large, it's just faster." "Kitten on the Keys" came along more than two decades after Missouri's Scott Joplin had begun the ragtime boom with his 1899 composi- tion "Maple Leaf Rag," and the difference between those two songs illustrates how the music evolved. It would con- tinue to change, and that's one of the things that attracts Ryan to ragtime. "I like history, and that part of it appeals to me - the evolution of American popu- lar music," he says. "It all started with ragtime. Rag- time was the first identifiably American popular music. People from other nations, especially in Europe, who heard it knew it didn't come from there. It didn't come from Africa. It came from America. "So the historicity of it appeals to me. And then the growth, how it spread to novelty and then to stride [piano], and here came jazz into the mix." Of course, there are other reasons Ryan remains at- tracted to the genre. "I like the two-fistedness of it," he says. "In ragtime, each hand has something to do. So it's quite athletic and, interestingly enough, I find it good practice to keep my technical chops up." Donald Ryan is set to begin his concert at 5:00 p.m. Sunday, March 10, at the Ok- lahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, lo- cated in downtown Tulsa's Jazz Depot, 111 E. First St. Tickets can be purchased at the depot or by calling Bettie Downing at 918-281-1008. General admission is $15, re- served table seating $20. Se- niors and Jazz Hall members are admitted for $10, and high school and junior high students for $5. Refresh- ments will be available for purchase. The Donald Ryan rag- time performance is a part of the Jazz Hall's Summer Con- cert Series. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) non- profit cultural and educa- tional organization, with a mission to inspire creativity and improve the quality of life for all Oklahomans through preservation, educa- tion, and performance of jazz, our uniquely American art form. P-12 • THE OKLAHOMA EAGLE • Thursday, March 7, 2013 Entertainment Jazz Hall Presents Donald Ryan's Salute To Ragtime money on services, or products, we should think to ourselves, “Is there someone in the district I could purchase this product or serv- ice from?” That simple thought would change the dynamics of our community. This past week I had an electrical issue. First I went to the Yel- low Pages under electrical, as a habit created in my earlier years. Then I thought, don’t I know some electricians? Lou with Her Electric, Leron West with All Power Electric, Amos Electric, Thurman Coulter, and a half dozen others came to mind. All of these individuals and companies could do the work, and they also spend money in our district every day. The same goes for the many plumbers, builders, air conditioning & heating providers, landscap- ers, beauticians, barbers, daycare owners, and other business owners in the district. We may even have relatives, classmates, or peo- ple we worship with, that have businesses we have never used, because we don’t think of them first. Come to our forums as we recog- nize a business owner each month. Spend money with business owners in the district and build a business relationship. Our next monthly forum is Saturday, March 23, 10:00 a.m. at the Rudisill Library. Stay informed---This is the District 73 Focus. For questions or comments contact me at: [email protected] or inbox me on Facebook at: Kevin Matthews State Rep or call (918) 955-2283. DISTRICT 73 FOCUS Continued from P.11 ports, who tested out this theory, the air conditioner taxes fuel consumption more than the aerodynamic drag caused by open windows. Consumer Reports tested using a Honda Accord's air conditioner while driving at 65 mph and found that it re- duced the vehicle's gas mileage by more than 3 miles per gallon. The effect of opening the windows at 65 mph (with the AC off), how- ever, was not measurable. Claim: Gas boycotts will force stations to lower their prices. – AAA says: FALSE. You'll occasionally see plans to boycott gas stations to help reduce prices. While there indeed was a daylong boycott in 2007 that garnered national media attention, the resulting claim that prices dropped 30-cents overnight did not actually happen. Even if drivers avoid buying gas on a certain day, they'll have to fill up in the days be- fore or after. A station doesn't make or break itself over a single day. Among cities in Okla- homa with at least ten gas stations, Ada has the most expensive fuel average today at $3.741. Henryetta has the state's cheapest, $3.536. Wyoming and California hold the lowest and highest average prices today for the lower 48 states at $3.23 and $4.22 per gallon, respectively. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A not-for-profit organi- zation, AAA Oklahoma serves its 364,000 members across Oklahoma with emer- gency help on the road, auto travel assistance and a wide range of personal insurance, travel, financial and automo- tive services through branch offices, a regional operations center and the Internet at AAA.com FUELING MYTHS Continued from P.11
-
Upload
marvin-bizzell -
Category
Documents
-
view
220 -
download
1
description
Â
Transcript of march 7, 2013 (11)
The acclaimed Tulsa pi-anist Donald Ryan, whobegan playing at the age ofthree in his native Trinidad,grew up aware of ragtimemusic. He just didn't play it.That all changed in the early1970s, with a new awarenessof that turn-of-the-centurystyle brought about by therunaway success of the 1973film The Sting, a period piecepropelled by the music of rag-time composer-musician ScottJoplin. Suddenly, Ryan - aworking pianist -- found him-self peppered with requestsfor the movie's Joplin-pennedtheme, "The Entertainer."
"So I learned it," he re-calls. "Then I bought a bookof Joplin rags, an anthology,which I still have, and Ilearned a couple of otherpieces. After that Rod Till-man, the founder of the Rag-time for Tulsa Foundation,asked me to be on its board,and I said, `sure.' That waswhen I started getting moreinvolved with playing it andlearning it."
Since then, Ryan has be-come one of the premier per-formers of ragtime in theworld, playing several timesat the Scott Joplin Festival inJoplin's hometown ofSedalia, Mo, and, in 2006,serving as artist in residencefor the Scott Joplin Interna-tional Ragtime Foundation,the same year he was in-ducted into the OklahomaJazz Hall of Fame.
Ryan's solo-piano showSunday will include selectionswritten by the composers hecalls "the big three of classicragtime," Joplin, James Scott,and Joseph Lamb.
"Of the three, James Scott- from his writing - was moreof a natural piano player,"notes Ryan. "His stuff justkind of ripples out. It's scintil-lating, and very pianistic,
whereas Joplin's is well-crafted, but it doesn't alwaysflow as easily from the fingers.
"Charles Lamb is the onewho sounds the most pol-ished. He was from New Jer-sey. He was white. AndJoplin liked his stuff. Hecomplimented Lamb whenhe said one of the rags Lambplayed for him was `a realNegro rag.' But Lamb's influ-ences were not just black orwhite or Midwestern. Hewas very influenced by thatmelting pot of cultures in[turn-of-the-century] NewJersey. Without reservation,my favorite rag of his iscalled `Bohemia.' It soundslike Hungarian music. If youtake away the rag aspect of it,it sounds like it could've beencomposed by Brahms orDvorak."
In addition to selectionsby those three giants of thegenre, Ryan intends to per-form some examples of whatcame to be known as "nov-elty rags" at Sunday's show.Among them will be tunesfrom a musician named ZezConfrey, whose 1921 compo-sition "Kitten on the Keys" isone of the best known of thenovelty rags.
"The novelty rags werewritten by guys who'd hadpiano lessons, and they useda lot of impressionism," heexplains. "There's a lot offlorid writing; it just goesfaster. Think tap-dancing,and that's the tempo of a nov-elty rag. By and large, it's justfaster."
"Kitten on the Keys"came along more than twodecades after Missouri's Scott
Joplin had begun the ragtimeboom with his 1899 composi-tion "Maple Leaf Rag," andthe difference between thosetwo songs illustrates how themusic evolved. It would con-tinue to change, and that'sone of the things that attractsRyan to ragtime.
"I like history, and thatpart of it appeals to me - theevolution of American popu-lar music," he says. "It all
started with ragtime. Rag-time was the first identifiablyAmerican popular music.People from other nations,especially in Europe, whoheard it knew it didn't comefrom there. It didn't comefrom Africa. It came fromAmerica.
"So the historicity of itappeals to me. And then thegrowth, how it spread tonovelty and then to stride
[piano], and here came jazzinto the mix."
Of course, there are otherreasons Ryan remains at-tracted to the genre.
"I like the two-fistednessof it," he says. "In ragtime,each hand has something todo. So it's quite athletic and,interestingly enough, I find itgood practice to keep mytechnical chops up."
Donald Ryan is set tobegin his concert at 5:00 p.m.Sunday, March 10, at the Ok-lahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, lo-cated in downtown Tulsa'sJazz Depot, 111 E. First St.Tickets can be purchased atthe depot or by calling BettieDowning at 918-281-1008.General admission is $15, re-served table seating $20. Se-niors and Jazz Hall membersare admitted for $10, andhigh school and junior highstudents for $5. Refresh-ments will be available forpurchase.
The Donald Ryan rag-time performance is a part ofthe Jazz Hall's Summer Con-cert Series.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Oklahoma Jazz Hall
of Fame is a 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural and educa-tional organization, with amission to inspire creativityand improve the quality oflife for all Oklahomansthrough preservation, educa-tion, and performance ofjazz, our uniquely Americanart form.
P-12 • THE OKLAHOMA EAGLE • Thursday, March 7, 2013 Entertainment
Jazz Hall Presents Donald Ryan's Salute To Ragtime
money on services, or products, we shouldthink to ourselves, “Is there someone in thedistrict I could purchase this product or serv-ice from?”
That simple thought would change thedynamics of our community. This past week Ihad an electrical issue. First I went to the Yel-low Pages under electrical, as a habit createdin my earlier years. Then I thought, don’t Iknow some electricians?
Lou with Her Electric, Leron West withAll Power Electric, Amos Electric, ThurmanCoulter, and a half dozen others came tomind. All of these individuals and companiescould do the work, and they also spend
money in our district every day. The samegoes for the many plumbers, builders, airconditioning & heating providers, landscap-ers, beauticians, barbers, daycare owners,and other business owners in the district. Wemay even have relatives, classmates, or peo-ple we worship with, that have businesses wehave never used, because we don’t think ofthem first. Come to our forums as we recog-nize a business owner each month. Spendmoney with business owners in the districtand build a business relationship.
Our next monthly forum is Saturday,March 23, 10:00 a.m. at the Rudisill Library.Stay informed---This is the District 73 Focus.
For questions or comments contact me at:[email protected] or inbox meon Facebook at: Kevin Matthews State Rep orcall (918) 955-2283.
DISTRICT 73 FOCUSContinued from P.11
ports, who tested out thistheory, the air conditionertaxes fuel consumption morethan the aerodynamic dragcaused by open windows.Consumer Reports testedusing a Honda Accord's airconditioner while driving at65 mph and found that it re-duced the vehicle's gasmileage by more than 3 milesper gallon. The effect ofopening the windows at 65mph (with the AC off), how-ever, was not measurable.
Claim: Gas boycotts will
force stations to lower theirprices.
– AAA says: FALSE.You'll occasionally see plansto boycott gas stations tohelp reduce prices. Whilethere indeed was a daylongboycott in 2007 that garnerednational media attention, theresulting claim that pricesdropped 30-cents overnightdid not actually happen.Even if drivers avoid buyinggas on a certain day, they'llhave to fill up in the days be-fore or after. A station doesn'tmake or break itself over asingle day.
Among cities in Okla-homa with at least ten gasstations, Ada has the most
expensive fuel average todayat $3.741. Henryetta has thestate's cheapest, $3.536.Wyoming and Californiahold the lowest and highestaverage prices today for thelower 48 states at $3.23 and$4.22 per gallon, respectively.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A not-for-profit organi-
zation, AAA Oklahomaserves its 364,000 membersacross Oklahoma with emer-gency help on the road, autotravel assistance and a widerange of personal insurance,travel, financial and automo-tive services through branchoffices, a regional operationscenter and the Internet atAAA.com
FUELINGMYTHSContinued from P.11
![1200852 [2013] RRTA 207 (7 March 2013) - Refworld](https://static.fdocuments.us/doc/165x107/6203ad32da24ad121e4c2c88/1200852-2013-rrta-207-7-march-2013-refworld.jpg)
