Tandem

The cradle of ragtime is located in Sedalia, Missouri, where Scott Joplin found eternal fame with the Maple Leaf Rag and The Sting. The term ragtime refers to the distinctive, "torn" rhythm of this music. Basically it consists of the contrast between a syncopated melody and a steady 2/4 time accompaniment to it. Due to its two-handed nature, the piano was exactly the right instrument for the harmony based on simple cadences. The most important early representatives of piano rag are Scott Joplin and James Scott. But also "Jelly Roll" Morton and Tom Turpin belong to it. The swinging rag became the basis of the subsequent Harlem stride piano style. The New York district of Harlem between 58th and 130th streets became the creative center of jazz in the 1920s with the "Cotton Club", the Apollo Theater and the "Savoy Ballroom". In the musical competition, pianists such as Duke Ellington or Fats Waller played against each other. Harlem became the focus of the driving solo style called "stride piano" (from the English "stride": to walk quickly and with big strides). It is the principle of melodic improvisation over a harmonic basis, with the left hand constantly changing between b note and chord. The Harlem Stride Rag found its most prominent representatives in James P. Johnson, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Eubie Blake and of course the great Thomas "Fats" Waller. The two pianists Bernd Lhotzky and Chris Hopkins follow in their footsteps with their album "Tandem" - and chapeau, the shoes fit! Stylistically of captivating purity, in expression doing justice to the models and with a fine feeling for swing and tempi, they have recorded an album with 15 pieces from the heyday of jazz piano. Alternating in duo or solo, Lhotzky and Hopkins bring back this time with compositions by Rodgers/Hart, Duke Ellington, Willie Smith, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Bix Beiderbecke and Harry Warren, among others.

Number of Discs: 1

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