THAT DEMON RAG!: AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC FROM THE RAGTIME ERA
(PRO 6001):
Performed by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, Rick Benjamin conductor.
This recording was produced to celebrate the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra’s selection as an official representative of the United States of America for the 1992 World’s Fair. At that grand exposition, held in Seville, Spain, the PRO performed dozens of concerts at the U.S. Pavilion for hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world. Most of these fairgoers had never heard (or even heard of) of ragtime, and many were enchanted by it. That Demon Rag! features the most popular musical selections played by the Orchestra at the World’s Fair, and includes delightful early 1900s music by Scott Joplin, Eubie Blake, and Jerome Kern, as well as terrific numbers by lesser-known but worthy composers. This is a wonderful recorded celebration of America’s Original Music, played by – as the late Tony Randall* put it – “THE WORLD’S GREATEST BAND!”
*Actor Tony Randall (1920-2004) was the PRO’s guest Master of Ceremonies for several of the Orchestra’s 1992 World’s Fair performances.
“That Hindu Rag” (novelty, 1910), George L. Cobb.
“A Cakewalk Contest” (1899), Arthur Pryor.
“The Favorite” (two step, 1904), Scott Joplin.
“Shadow Time” (reverie, 1913), Charles L. Johnson.
“Ragtime Travesty on Il Trovatore“ (1914), Carleton L. Colby.
“Ghost Dance” (descriptive, 1911), Cora Salisbury.
“The Bullfrog Blues” (fox trot, 1916), Brown & Shrigley.
“Bombs & Bullets: An Explosion in Ragtime” (1915), Elmer G. Ruth.
“Smiles and Chuckles: A Trombone Spasm” (1917), F. Henri Klickmann.
“The Dallas Blues” (1912), Hart A. Wand. [The world’s first published BLUES!]
“That Demon Rag!” (two step, 1912), Russell Smith.
“Chevy Chase Foxtrot” (1914), Eubie Blake.
“Great Scott Rag” (two step, 1909), James Scott.
“The Booster: An American Absurdity” (1913), M.L. Lake.
“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
"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