COMPACT DISC REVIEW

                               By

                     Jack Rummel

 

Angels Flight: 21st Century Los Angeles Ragtime

John Reed-Torres, piano

(No label, no number)

 

Ham And! / Little Jack’s Rag / The Thriller / Smoky Mokes / The Queen Rag / New Era Rag / Spring Street Rag / Angels Flight / The Belle of Los Angeles / The Ragtime Angie / Carrot Cake Walk / Matinee Rag / Sunshine Cakewalk / Gladiolus Rag / Ethiopia Rag / The Favorite / Maple Leaf Rag / Leola / Peacherine Rag / Eugenia / (The Great) Crush Collision March.

 

     It was comforting and reassuring to listen to this disc.  At a time when the younger generation of ragtime pianists seems intent to build its reputation on speed and pyrotechnics, John Reed-Torres has embraced the “classic” style of the early masters, thus creating a delightful CD that hearkens back to the days when ragtime was young and sheet music was bought to be played on parlor pianos.

     Reed-Torres is a native Los Angelino, having encountered ragtime from hearing a neighborhood ice cream truck playing the A-strain of Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer.  He was self-taught early on, but has since studied music at the college level and currently performs at venues and festivals throughout California and beyond.

     The recording opens with two selections by Arthur Marshall (Ham And! and Little Jack’s Rag), then features one cut each by May Aufderheide (The Thriller), Abe Holzmann (Smoky Mokes), Floyd Willis (The Queen Rag), James Scott (New Era Rag) and Joseph Lamb (Ethiopia Rag).  Smack in the middle are seven originals by Reed-Torres and closing the playlist are seven works by Joplin that will be familiar to most listeners.

     The “21st Century Los Angeles Ragtime” cuts (aka Reed-Torres compositions) fit in well with those of a century earlier.  Spring Street Rag is a sprightly number with a tango-like trio named for a well-known LA corridor, while Angels Flight gracefully memorializes a funicular railway in the city’s Bunker Hill district. The Belle of Los Angeles, sporting another tango-like trio, joyously fetes an unnamed socialite; The Ragtime Angie, a commissioned work, is happily influenced by diverse sounds from the 1910s.

     Taking fresh looks at an early style are two cakewalks. Carrot Cake Walk and Sunshine Cakewalk sport many innovative passages, while Matinee Rag is a merry tip of the ragtime hat to the Old Town Music Hall, a LA landmark where he often performs prior to the movies.

     Reed-Torres employs a gentle touch throughout on a piano that possesses a mellow tone.  Dynamics are present but seldom deviate from a centrist position.  He adds tasteful embellishments here and there but rarely strays from the printed scores - homage, I’m sure, to the sound compositional decisions of the early masters.  All selections are competently performed, the cover graphics are clever and eye-catching and the liner notes by fellow ragtimer Vincent Johnson are very well written.  John Reed-Torres has hit a home run with his first professionally-produced CD, demonstrating that the ragtime foundations from the beginning of the 20th Century are alive and well in 21st Century Los Angeles.  Recommended.

     Available for $20.00 postpaid from John Reed-Torres, 4900 South Figueroa Street #407, Los Angeles, CA 90037.  International orders should contact <johnreedtorres@gmail.com> to arrange an order.