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Rick Benjamin's Paragon Ragtime Orchestra

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ON THE BOARDWALK:
Music from the
Arthur Pryor Orchestra Collection

This is the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra's very first recording, made just weeks after the group's debut concert at The Juilliard School in the spring of 1986. The disc features PRO performing original 1900s orchestra sheet music from the collection of the legendary American trombonist/conductor/composer Arthur Pryor (1870-1942). The Pryor collection - which Mr. Pryor had used as conductor for the Victor Talking Machine Co. - had been lost since the 1920s. But in1985 it was discovered by Juilliard student Rick Benjamin, who founded the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra to perform selections from this important historical trove. ON THE BOARDWALK includes a delightful mix of Ragtime Era "hits" along with rarities and revelations. Critically acclaimed, this CD was produced by Thomas Frost (a multi-Grammy winner most famous for his recordings of pianist Vladimir Horowitz and The Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy). It is a crackerjack production - snappily played and beautifully recorded - and the fact that it is still in print after 24 years (an eon in the record business) is proof of its worth. Add it to your collection and enjoy!


On the Boardwalk cover

NCD - 60039 (CD)

SALE! $14.00 USD

ON THE BOARDWALK  

  1. Chatterbox Rag (two step, 1910), George Botsford.
  2. The Memphis Blues (1912), W. C. Handy.
  3. George M. Cohan Medley One Step (1917), arr. Dave Kaplan.
  4. The Paragon Rag (two step, 1909), Scott Joplin.
  5. Heart of America (march, 1909), Arthur Pryor.
  6. Made in America (fox trot, 1915), M. L. Lake.
  7. In The Hills of Old Kentucky Medley (two step, 1914), Charles L. Johnson.
  8. Aggravation Rag (1910), George L. Cobb.
  9. Slippery Hank (trombone novelty, 1917), Frank Losey.
  10. On The Level You're a Little Devil (fox trot, 1918), Jean Schwartz.
  11. An Operatic Nightmare: Desecration Rag #2 (1916), Felix Arndt.
  12. Snookums Rag (1917), Charles L. Johnson.
  13. Mr. Black Man (ragtime cakewalk, 1904), Arthur Pryor.
  14. Kentucky Home (fox trot, 1915), Eugene Platzmann.
  15. That Epidemic Rag (two step, 1911), Harry Tierney & Edna Williams.
  16. Under the Mellow Arabian Moon (fox trot, 1915), Caspar Nathan & J. Walter Leopold.
  17. That Eccentric Rag (1912), J. Russell Robinson.
  18. Black and White Rag (two step, 1908), George Botsford.
  19. "Old Timers" Waltz Medley (1917), arr. M. L. Lake.
  20. The St. Louis Rag (1904), Tom Turpin.
  21. On Jersey Shore (march, 1905), Arthur Pryor.
  22. Chatterbox Rag (reprise)

"As slices of Americana go, 'On the Boardwalk' is hard to resist...it's imbued with turn-of-the century charm and elegance...Summoning both the subtle interplay and brassy vitality the pieces demand, the PRO does itself proud." - THE WASHINGTON POST

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