James Scott: The Complete Works 1903-1922

Guido Nielsen - James Scott: The Complete Works 1903-1922

James Scott: The Complete Works 1903-1922
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CD Details

Artist: Guido Nielsen
Edition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2001-10-16
Music Label: Basta Records
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. A Summer Breeze
  2. The Fascinator
  3. On The Pike
  4. Frog Legs Rag
  5. Kansas City Rag
  6. My Girl From Anaconda
  7. Grace And Beauty
  8. Great Scott Rag
  9. Valse Venice
  10. The Ragtime "Betty"
  11. Sunburst Rag
  12. Sweetheart Rag
  13. Hilarity Rag
  14. Ophelia Rag
  15. Hearts Longing
  16. The Princess Rag
  17. Quality Rag
  18. Ragtime Oriole
  19. The Suffragette
Music CD 2
  1. Climax Rag
  2. Take Me Out To Lakeside
  3. Evergreen Rag
  4. Honeymoon Rag
  5. Prosperity Rag
  6. Efficiency Rag
  7. Paramount Rag
  8. Dixie Dimples
  9. Rag Sentimental
  10. Springtime Of Love
  11. New Era Rag
  12. Peace And Plenty Rag
  13. Troubadour Rag
  14. The Shimmie Shake
  15. Modesty Rag
  16. Pegasus
  17. Don't Jazz Me Rag (I'm Music)
  18. Victory Rag
  19. Broadway Rag

Music reviews of James Scott: The Complete Works 1903-1922

Music Review: Mixed review
Rating: 2 Stars

I've been playing this music since the revival began circa 1970 with Joshua Rifkin's Nonesuch recordings, and it would later become an integral part of my music studies as I pursued a PhD. From a performance standpoint, I have to say that I'm disappointed. To my ear, Mr. Nielsen plays the notes, but that's about it. His playing reminds me of the technically proficient students who majored in piano performance and could knock out Chopin and Mozart with their eyes closed but couldn't master the performance subtleties of ragtime.

Bottom line: The playing just doesn't swing. To be fair, I come from a school of thought that believes these itinerant composers took their work seriously as compositions but played them with greater syncopated vigor than what I'm hearing in this recording. You can play those 8th and 16th notes literally and be perfect, or you can give them the triplet jazz feel that lifts them from the page to make you tap your feet. It's especially a disappointment with Mr. Scott's music as he was undoubtedly the best performer of the classic ragtime trinity and there's no way he couldn't have been exposed to the budding jazz music that was happening all around him. Surely, he didn't intend these pieces to sound like a march.

Compare Mr. Nielsen's performaces, for instance, of "Efficiency Rag" and "New Era Rag" to William Bolcom's from his now out-of-print Nonesuch recording of rags by James Scott and Artie Matthews. Bolcom's performances literally crackle with energy and brilliance; Scott's writing often calls for that kind of vigorous performance. Nielsen falls painfully short. Perhaps the difference is that one person is playing the notes, the other is making music.

The same comparison is even more grating with the more down-tempo numbers, the Troubador and Modesty rags. Bolcom's performances are rich, shaded, dynamic. Again, Nielsen just sounds like he's playing the notes and little else.

That's harsh, I realize, but either you have it in your fingers or you don't. With Mr. Nielsen, I feel like I'm watching a silent movie; with Mr. Bolcom (Max Morath is another who comes to mind), I feel like I'm listening to a real performance. Nonesuch would do well to re-release Bolcom's ragtime recordings on disc (including the wonderful Heliotrope Bouquet LP).

That said, this is still a valuable recording for any ragtime aficionado's collection. The extensive liner notes are matched only by the bountiful photos of the period, including sheet music covers with their rich color artwork. Scott is vastly underrated by scholars and fans and sorely underrepresented by recording artists. Anyone willing to undertake his entire output deserves credit and for that, a tip of the cap to Mr. Nielsen. One wishes he could've sounded more athletic and less clinical.
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