Plus other ragtime performers:

Program:

Florida Rag (1907)-Vess L. Ossman
When Uncle Joe Plays a Rag on His Old Banjo (1912)-Arthur Collins
Booster Fox Trot (1915)-Victor Military Band
Berkeley March (1898)-Cullen and Collins
Hu-la Hu-la Cake Walk (1901)-Sousa's Band
Dill Pickles Rag (1922)-William H. Reitz
Cakewalk (1907)-John Kimmel
Everybody Rag with Me (1915)-American Quartet
Creole Belles (1902)-Orchestra
By the Sycamore Tree (1904)-Ossman and Hunter
The International Rag (1913)-Collins and Harlan
Silver Heels (1919) -Fred Van Eps
Canhanibalmo Rag (1911)-Arthur Pryor's Band
A Coon Band Contest (1901)-Vess L. Ossman
You're Talking Rag-Time (1900)-Arthur Collins
Whipped Cream (1913)-Fred Van Eps
Deiro Rag (1912)-Guido Deiro
Old Folks Rag (1914)-Van Eps Trio
Ragged William (1901) -Metropolitan Orchestra
Ragtime Temple Bells (1915)-Billy Murray
Russian Rag (1918)-Earl Fuller's Rector Novelty Orchestra
Hungarian Rag (1914)-Pietro Deiro
Wild Cherry Rag (1909)-Eddie Morton
The King of Rags (1907)-Arthur Pryor's Band
Darkies Awakening (1904)-Vess L. Ossman
Cohan's "Rag Babe"(1908)-Arthur Collins
Some Baby (1914)-Van Eps Banjo Orchestra
Ruff Johnson's Harmony Band (1917)-'Gene Greene

total time: 73:58
released: 1999
review date: January 2001

label: Archeophone (1001)

Review by Henry Doktorski:

I was pleased to receive this CD in the mail, as it included historic cylinder recordings (not disc records, mind you; wax cylinder recordings) by three great American accordionists whose performances helped form the foundation for the "golden age of the accordion" in the first half of the 20th century: John J. Kimmel, Guido Deiro and Pietro Deiro. I was especially pleased to receive this anthology, as I will be performing two of Guido's compositions at City University of New York in March later this year (see Free-Reed Center Announces Symposium and Concert).

Real Ragtime elicits the highest praise from a tired and jaded reviewer like myself. The 18-page booklet includes an essay on ragtime, biographies of the performers, descriptions of each track including title of song, composer, time, performer, date and place of recording (including which take was used, if known), cylinder label and number, and comprehensive notes about each piece.

For instance, let me share with you the booklet notes about Kimmel and the piece he played.

Track 7: Cakewalk (probably Kimmel) 2:13
John J. Kimmel, accordion solo
Recorded 1907
[Oxford issue of Zonophone 861; matrix 7598]

The march, two-step, and cakewalk were all popular dance styles in the 1890s associated with ragtime music. In fact, sheet music of the period frequently listed an inventory of dance steps suitable to the music, and all three modes might be listed together (and with others such as the polka). The cakewalk originated on plantations as a grand-promenade style of dance, performed to a march, where slave couples would compete for the prettiest steps and the winners would "take the cake." This dance was revived just prior to the emergence of ragtime, and it became a craze in its own right both in American and European ballrooms. As it increasingly became connected to ragtime, the cakewalk step became more syncopated. By about 1904, however, its popularity waned, even as cakewalk musical arrangements remained staples in the repertoire of artists such as Kimmel. [Reviewers note: the front cover depicts a negro dancer performing a version of the cakewalk.]

John J. Kimmel (1866-1942) was particularly skillful at rendering Irish jigs and reels, so his friends nicknamed him "The Irish Dutchman" -- despite his being a Brooklyn native of German parentage. He was the first accordionist to make commercial records in the United States, having begun his recording career with Zonophone about 1904. His regular accompanist was Joe Linder (1870-1943), a piano-player who was unable to sight-read music and played almost entirely from memory. Kimmel was known on the vaudeville stage with acts "such as coming out and playing four-part harmony on cornets, then saxophones, xylophone and, of course, during scenery shifts he'd solo on the accordion," as an acquaintance recalled in 1953. Kimmel was also a saloon-keeper, although his last establishment, "The Accordion," folded due to Prohibition.

In my opinion, every self-proclaimed lover of the accordion should be embarrassed if this disc is not in his or her collection.