[Dixielandjazz] RE: Horn Parts and Rags

[Hal Vickery]

I'm looking at the LP right now:  RCA LSO-1159:  "Max Morath at the Turn of
the Century."  Bottom right hand corner of the cover:  "Arranged and
Conducted by Fred Karlin.  Copyright date is 1969.  Max Morath may not have
used an orchestra in his show (in fact I've seen three of his shows in the
Chicago area and it was always just Max and his piano), but RCA (or producer
Andy Wiswell) apparently made him use one for the album.

 

I'd have to search for the record, but I could swear the Original Ragtime
Quartet appears on "Max Morath Plays the Best of Scott Joplin and Other Rag
Classics," so at least there are some recordings extant of this work.

 

Hal Vickery

 

  _____  

From: DWSI at aol.com [mailto:DWSI at aol.com] 
Sent: Saturday, July 22, 2006 6:01 AM
To: hvickery at svs.com
Subject: Re: Horn Parts and Rags

 

Max Morath made a recording of his one-man Broadway show, Max Morath at the
Turn of the Century that was released by RCA Victor, probably back in the
'60s.  He plays with a small orchestra, and Maple Leaf Rag is one of the
selections.

Hal:

 

One small correction: Max, a friend of mine, did not record Turn of the
Century with an orchestra because none was used in the show. I saw the show,
visited him backstage, and had a ball doing both. He later recorded once
with a group called the original ragtime quartet in Canada; a 5-string
banjo, bass, and guitar along with Max on piano. Great stuff, but the studio
owner later went bezerk and torched his own studio, taking with it the
masters of this great work. 

 

All the best,


Dan Spink