That American Rag: The Story of Ragtime from Coast to Coast


Printed:	2000	Author:	David A. Jasen
Publisher:	E.C. Schirmer Music Company	ISBN:	0825672333
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Hardcover, 433 pages, (December 2000)
Amazon Review
From Booklist
The rag grew out of the cakewalk in the early 1900s. The two forms differ in their syncopated rhythms and their structure of three or four different melodic segments that are variously repeated. Conceived as lively piano entertainment for a bawdy house, many rags were simplified for playing in the home. Some were written only for player pianos and included parts for three or four hands. Missouri was ragtime's homeland, but rags were also published in Chicago, Cincinnati, and New York. Jasen and Jones sketch the careers of many rag composers, including, of course, the famous Joplin, Lamb, and Morton, and the histories of ragtime publishers, including J. W. Jenkins' Sons in Kansas City, Stark Music in St. Louis, Forster Music in Chicago, and M. Witmark & Sons in New York City. Historical sketches of ragtime locales before the music was born complete the story. An exhaustive catalog of 2,015 published rags makes this concise music-business history an excellent reference for ragtime aficionados.
Alan Hirsch --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Ragtime Index