Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Mellotronists

In my piano class I have been trying to get my instruction veerd
towards the Great American Ragtime sound.. In doing so I found a
little history that was lost until reciently. Rick, if you know of the
following please let me know what you think. Well I stumbled on some
old piano rolls of James P. Johnson dated 1921 - 1929(The Charlston
and more)!!!! The father of Stride, the teacher of the great Fats
Waller and Duke Ellengton.. From what I've been reading it all comes
down that the movement he started had much more impact to the world
than anything we know of regarding modern music. It's difficult to put
my self in that time but listing to these lost rolls one can hear
music that must have been on hold until today! (the history tells how
his name was forgotton partially due to his work and inflence on
Gershwin) On ebay I also found a old "Push Up" which was the
predecessor to the player piano invented in Detroit. You push this
large unit up to any piano and it uses the suction pumps to activate
"servos" if you will to play the piano. I wish I could get it but it's
in Ohio.. Anyway these songs are now available on CD on the
Tradition Records label by Rycodisk. The CD is called James P. Johnson
Running Wild 1921-1926.
Ches #997