Ragtime Kidd Repertoire February 13, 2007

I love many styles of music and I believe it is healthy
to accept the merits of each. Playing at the Holiday Inn for years and various tour boats have secured me with a broad repertoire covering styles like Pop, Rock and Roll, Jazz Standards, Ragtime and Boogie-Woogie.

What is Boogie-Woogie? I maintain it was the precursor to the Rock and Roll that was popularized in the 1950s by Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino and the like.

Here’s what Wiki says:

Boogie-woogie is a style of piano-based blues that became very popular in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and was extended from piano, to three pianos at once, guitar, big band, and country and western music, and even gospel. Whilst the blues traditionally depicts sadness and sorrow, boogie-woogie is associated with dancing.

Source: Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogie-woogie_%28music%29

Here are some of the rags and boogie I like to play:

• Maple Leaf Rag
• HarlemRag
• The Entertainer
• The Weeping Willow
• Ragtime Nightingale
• Swipesy Cakewalk
• Ragtime Jalopy
• The Bowery Buck
• Vitality Rag
• Possum and Taters
• Red Onion Rag
• Pleasant Moments
• Ragtime Nightmare
• Happy Cat Rag
• Spann’s Boogie
• Let’em Jump
• Monday Struggle
• Boogie Woogie on the St. Louis Blues
• Farewell to Riverside
• Kidd’s Boogie

Ross the artist February 13, 2007

I have performed at many functions in the Kingston area for over 20 years. I developed a love for Ragtime in 1982 when I became hooked on the Classic Piano Ragtime book by Rudi Blesh. I studied under John Arpin, Toronto’s great pianist and President of the Toronto Ragtime Society at the time.

One of my highlights was playing for Princess Diana on her visit to Kingston in October 1991.

I have worked several drummers in the past and I still work occasionally with Doctor Drums. I have been a member of the Ragtime Society in Toronto and the Kingston Musician’s Union Local 518.

In 2009, I finished a 20 year gig as “The Ragtime Kidd” performing as the house pianist at the Holiday Inn Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

I look forward to sharing my thoughts and appreciation for ragtime with all of you!