COMPACT DISC REVIEW

By

Jack Rummel

Return to Cripple Creek: The Music of Max Morath
Sue Keller & Jeff Barnhart
HV Recording HVR1101

Gold Bar Rag / Tribute to Joplin / If You Don’t Have Any Money / Echoes of the Rosebud / Echoes of the Cakewalk / Cakewalkin’ Shoes / One For Amelia / New Black Eagle Buck / One For Norma / Cakewalkin’ Jamboree / Three For Diane* / Polyragmic / Golden Hours / Temporary Baby / Dr Jackpot/Old Mortality / Poverty Gulch / The Vindicator / The Anchoria Leland / Imperial Rag / One For The Road. (*with Anne Barnhart, flute)

     Max Morath is now retired.  He no longer performs and he has cut back on his seminars and emcee work.  The man who almost singlehandedly kept ragtime in the public eye for 60-plus years is now taking a well-earned rest.  Yet, we still have his music.  His numerous CDs are still available, as are the scores of his original compositions, and now other performers are recording his works.
     Two major collections have come out recently, one of his complete piano music (performed by Aaron Robinson, 2015) and now one of all his piano music plus four of his songs featuring Sue Keller and Jeff Barnhart.  It has a rollicking feel to it that recalls Morath’s own performances.
     Much thought and planning have gone into the arrangement of the playlist.  There are solo and four-handed piano arrangements, vocal stylings and one lovely arrangement featuring Anne Barnhart on flute, all of which give this disc the variety found in an actual concert.  Morath’s unique compositional style makes you think he’s doing funny things with time, yet it all comes out even in the end and adds to the appeal of his works.  Barnhart’s vocals are perfect for the four songs, since both he and Morath are known as storytellers, not as Carusos.
     Speaking of storytellers, a wonderful bonus are the liner notes by Morath himself, who treats us to a friendly tale about how he got started in composing rags and how pianists should approach them.  The piano solos appear to be mostly handled by Keller, who does a very creditable job on such a varied palate.  Only one track, New Black Eagle Buck, falls a bit short: the notes are all there but it feels like a constant race to catch up.  (Indications of who’s where when on the keyboard cuts would have been appreciated.)
     The criticisms are minor, however, compared to the overall stature of the work.  The sound is pure, the piano is grand, the cover art is attractive as well as historical and the package exudes the love that has gone into its production.  Kudos to Sue Keller, Anne and Jeff Barnhart, and especially to Max Morath who created all the wonderful music.  This disc’s a keeper.
     Available for $15.00 postpaid from Ragtime Press, P.O. Box 913, Orleans, MA 02653.