Performed by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, Rick Benjamin conductor.
MORE CANDY is the PRO’s celebration of some of the biggest hits from the early years of American pop music. Included are great rags, two steps, marches, one steps, foxtrots, and novelties, performed from the original orchestrations (i.e. orchestra sheet music) using antique instruments and authentic playing techniques. This CD features 25 numbers (68 minutes), including a several world premiere recordings: the original version of George Gershwin’s first hit “Swanee” (1919), and Jelly Roll Morton’s own 1915 “Jelly Roll Blues” (reputedly the first-ever jazz orchestration), among others. MORE CANDY was recorded in high-definition digital audio in historic 1857 Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts; the recorded sound is truly spectacular. This is without doubt one of the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra’s best recordings and an attractive refuge for your rock- and rap-weary ears!
“The Red Rose Rag” (1911), Percy Wenrich.
“More Candy” (one step, 1917), Mel B. Kaufman.
“Jungle Jubilee” (syncopated novelty, 1910), John W. Bratton.
“Put On Your Your Old Gray Bonnet” (medley march, 1909), Percy Wenrich.
“The Jelly Roll Blues” (foxtrot, 1915), Ferdinand Morton.
“Paddy Whack” (characteristic two step,1906), J. Bodewalt Lampe.
“The Witching Hour: A Spooky Rag” (1915), Charles N. Grant.
“The Get-A-Way” (march, 1913), George L. Cobb.
“My Uncle Sammy Gals” (one step, 1918), F. Henri Klickmann.
“The Mississippi Rag” (cakewalk, 1897), William H. Krell.
“Toreador Humoresque: A Ragtime Travesty on Carmen” (1918), M. L. Lake.
“L’Encore” (duet for flute and clarinet, 1910), Victor Herbert.
“Silver Heels” (Indian Intermezzo, 1905), Charles N. Daniels.
“Sweetmeats Rag” (two step, 1907), Percy Wenrich.
“Some Shape” (one step, 1917), George L. Cobb.
“The Hesitating Blues” (Slow Drag,1915), W. C. Handy.
“Swanee” (one step, 1919), George Gershwin.
“Big Foot Lou” (cakewalk, 1899), Joseph Gearen.
“Mona Lisa Valse” (1914), George L. Cobb.
“By The Beautiful Sea” (one step, 1914), Harry Carroll.
“Barnyard Blues” (Jazz Foxtrot,1917), D. J. La Rocca.
“Red Onion Rag” (1912), Abe Olman.
“Babes In The Wood” (foxtrot, 1916), Jerome Kern.
“When You Wore A Tulip And I Wore A Big Red Rose” (Medley One Step, 1914),
Percy Wenrich
“Delirium Tremems Rag: A Trombone Spasm” (1913), F. Henri Klickmann.
“A very fulfilling and sufficiently varied collection, Rialto’s More Candy should seem sweet to the ears of those with a strong interest in ragtime music.” – allmusic guide
"Benjamin and his orchestra filled the second half of the evening with lilting, humorous, and even elegant readings of ragtime numbers, a W.C. Handy blues song, and even a Sousa march…Popular music, A.D. 1900, is still going strong." – Pasadena Star News
Kansas City Star
“This group is like a ragtime early music ensemble, striving to protect the integrity of this uniquely American musical genre.” – Kansas City Star
Fanfare 2
“…delightfully infectious. The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and its dynamic director have found a winning formula for educating the public in the most enjoyable way…” – Fanfare magazine
LaCrosse Tribune
“The magical, musical time machine.” – La Crosse Tribune
Washington Post 2
“Summoning both the subtle interplay and brassy vitality these pieces demand, the PRO does itself proud.” – The Washington Post
Buffalo News
“The results were irresistible. Halfway through the opening Knock-Out Drops Rag, someone enthused audibly, ‘Gee, they’re terrific!’ She was right.” – Buffalo News
American Heritage
“…the twelve-member Paragon Ragtime Orchestra has been touring the country in the ghostly footsteps of the thousands of ‘theater orchestras’ that once played in every hotel, vaudeville hall, and fair-sized restaurant. Few of them can have played with more bite and sparkle than the Paragon.” – American Heritage magazine
Gramophone
“…genteel melodic lines swim like fish through pure water.” – Gramophone magazine
BBC Music magazine
“superbly presented….prize-worthy.” – BBC Music magazine
American Music magazine
“… a deft, crisp, and energetic group…. one of the premiere forces in the reassertion of this repertoire in our musical consciousness.”
– American Music magazine
New York Times
“Best of all, the concert came off not as a dry musicological dig, but as an evening of…abidingly energetic fun.” – The New York Times
Wall Street Journal
“…protecting an important American treasure…not just be a pleasure to hear but for many a true revelation.” – The Wall Street Journal
Washington Post
“Vibrantly revived music.” – The Washington Post
Classics Today
“There’s plenty of variety here to give a representative sampling of some of the era’s finest pop music, and it’s all played with polish, authenticity, and all-out enthusiasm by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra under Rick Benjamin’s inspired direction.” – Classics Today
Fanfare magazine
“If PRO is not already labeled a national treasure it should be.” – Fanfare magazine
Philadelphia Inquirer
“Four Stars…The music is incomparably sweet and stirring. And Rick Benjamin, who founded and conducts the PRO, is a musician of wit and sensibility.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Denver Post
“To hear the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra play the compositions of Scott Joplin or Irving Berlin… is to hear the promise many Americans felt about the prospects for the U.S. a century ago.”
– Denver Post
The San Francisco Chronicle
"Ragtime and opera joined hands and danced together in the most joyous fashion at Stern Grove on Sunday afternoon, with a vigorous and utterly charming performance of Scott Joplin’s 'Treemonisha'…the score, superbly led by conductor Rick Benjamin, is a resourceful marvel….For this performance Benjamin…unveiled his new arrangement of 'Treemonisha' for the 11-piece Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. That lithe, pungent blend of strings, woodwinds and brass…gave the performance a lively grace that helped fill the sunny meadow to perfection.”
– The San Francisco Chronicle