{"product_id":"0884501896948-my-pet-novelty-piano-solos-of-the-twenties-and-thirties","title":"My Pet: Novelty Piano Solos of the Twenties \u0026 Thir","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePRODUKTBESCHREIBUNGEN \u003cbr\u003e It has been eight years - eight years of rushing to the piano to untangle a tricky passage, eight years of trading photocopies and transcribing piano rolls, eight years of studying all of the literature and sheet music I could get my now-somewhat-dexterous hands on, eight years of club meetings, online forums, jazz festivals, and eight years of friendship and collaboration with the most talented people I know. I am in love with this music; I have been since I heard Zez Confrey's 'Kitten on the Keys' when I was twelve years old. I still feel the attraction - playful, happy, and tricky with an underlying beauty and old-fashioned sophistication. Eight years and I am still not Zez Confrey - or Rube Bloom or Billy Mayerl, for that matter. The virtuosity of the 1920s composer-pianists and their creative talents seem to go on without end. Emulating their pianism, let alone matching their ingenuity, looks to be a lifetime of work. Undeterred, I still try with as much passion as ever. It isn't work if it's fun! BIOGRAPHY A pianist, composer and transcriber, Vincent Johnson is dedicated to the preservation of 1920s \u0026amp; 1930s syncopated piano playing. He was first attracted to piano at age 12, when he heard his friends playing Scott Joplin rags. Unable to play the piano at the time, he taught himself to play Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer by listening to recordings and watching other pianists play these pieces. During this same period, he enrolled in a music course at California State University Los Angeles, which introduced him to music theory. His interest in ragtime brought him to the Rose Leaf Ragtime Club, where he was exposed to the many different types of syncopated piano music that proliferated during the early part of the 20th Century. In addition to his already extant love for classic ragtime, he developed an interest in early jazz, advanced ragtime, stride piano, 1930s pop songs and ballads, and novelty piano. The pianistic technicality required for these styles necessitated formal piano lessons and a further study of music theory. REVIEWS '. a real winner! He sure doesn't pick the easy ones - it's a good mix of familiars (Confrey), the legends (Schutt, Shapiro), and one of my favorites, Rube Bloom, not often played.' - Max Morath 'Vincent Johnson is Novelty Piano personified. Those who know him well will readily attest that he is a 1920s man in a modern world. The masterpieces on this record evoke phrases and descriptors that fit both him and the music: a deft and effortless wit; a natty style that is the perfect blend of understated and unique; an intellectual bent without any sort of pretension.' - Max Keenlyside 'If you listen only for an absence of errors, even at very brisk tempos, you'll say to yourself - That MUST be a player piano! But if you listen only for color, feeling, and expression, you'll have to conclude - That CAN'T be a player piano! Then, if you listen for BOTH, you'll say - Aha! That Must be Vincent Johnson!' - Doug Haise.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41015895294049,"sku":"0884501896948","price":13.52,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/63de7de72b8119968ebc39c4f312f8f5.jpg?v=1695904441","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/0884501896948-my-pet-novelty-piano-solos-of-the-twenties-and-thirties","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}