In 2023, I decided to take a break from “serious” music and turn back the clock to a childhood interest of mine: ragtime piano. The project has resulted in five volumes of ragtime-inspired pieces (and one volume of waltzes), taking inspiration not only from ragtime greats like Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb, but also from musicians such as Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, and Gene Harris—Van Halen even makes an appearance. It's been loads of fun, although the pieces are more fit for the concert stage than for the ragtime festivals or the downtown establishments.
The resulting project consists of four volumes of Rags 'n Things (15 titles each), one volume of Ragatelles (9 pieces), and a volume of waltzes. For whatever reasons, I decided to arrange the pieces in each volume in alphabetical order, while also aiming to give an entire volume a cohesive beginning-middle-end / flow, such that listening to the entire set would be a satisfying experience.
Piano solos inspired by ragtime, like Salty Raisin, a response to...
Titles in Rags 'n Things (first volume):