Review

Charles L. Johnson
Great American Rags Volume 4:

Arranged by Terry L. Baldridge


Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2023
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Piano score and solo part

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

Charles Leslie Johnson (1876–1950) was an American composer from Kansas City, Missouri, known for his contributions to ragtime and early popular music. He gained fame with pieces like Dill Pickles Rag (1907), one of the best-selling rags of its time, and also wrote waltzes and novelty tunes. Despite not achieving the lasting recognition of Scott Joplin, his works were widely published and played a significant role in the ragtime era. This collection of Kansas City Rags, which are skillfully arranged for trombone or euphonium and piano by Terry L. Baldridge, contains four rags: Yankee Bird (1910), Cum-Bac Rag (1911), Hen Cackle Rag (1912), and the Crazy Bone Rag (1913). Each of the Rags is two to three minutes in length, including all the internal repeats; however, in performance, they could each be shortened by selectively eliminating repeats without too much detriment to the entertaining character of the music. 

Yankee Bird is the only composition in the set not explicitly labeled as a “rag.” It is a two-step that is slightly more rhythmically straightforward than the others. The Cum-Bac Rag refers to a popular toy from the first decade of the twentieth century that was somewhat of a cross between a yo-yo and a metal wind-up toy that would “come back” to the user. The cyclical nature of the ascending scales in the A section seem to imitate the playful character of the toy. The Cum-Bac Rag asks for significantly more agility and range from the performer and also demands command of the syncopated rhythms. The Hen Cackle Rag originally featured the subtitle “A Barnyard Disturbance” and contains many grace notes and triplet-sixteenth figures that will give a fun challenge to the performer. The set concludes with the aptly named Crazy Bone Rag, which is the shortest of the set, yet makes for a wonderful conclusion. 

Kansas City Rags does not make great demands on the performer’s high register, with the highest notated pitch being an a1 and the lowest pitch being a B-flat. These charming ragtime tunes are a welcome addition to our repertoire and would make for an interesting set in a recital program.