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Ragtime Quotes

Browse 29 quotes about Ragtime.

Ragtime Quotes

“Once there was Louis Armstrong blowing his beautiful top in the muds of New Orleans; before him the mad musicians who had paraded on official days and broke up their Sousa marches into ragtime. Then there was swing, and Roy Eldridge, vigorous and virile, blasting the horn for everything it had in waves of power and logic and subtlety - leaning into it with glittering eyes and a lovely smile and sending it out broadcast to rock the jazz world.”

WorldEyeBeautifulRocksMusicianLogicMadJazzWaveLovelyBrokeOfficialsMarchSwingsMudNew OrleansHornsVigorousSubtletyArmstrongBroke UpRagtime
Book:On the Road
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“What is scurrilously called ragtime is an invention that is here to stay. That is now conceded by all classes of musicians... All publication s masquerading under the name of ragtime are not the genuine article... That real ragtime of the higher class is rather difficult to play is a painful truth which most pianists have discovered. Syncopations are no indication of light or trashy music... Joplin ragtime is destroyed by careless or imperfect rendering, and very often players lost the effect entirely by playing too fast.”

RealPlayLightNamesLostDifficultClassPlayerEffectsHigherMusicianPainfulGenuineInventionDestroyedArticlesImperfectCarelessIndicationPublicationPianistRenderingConcededRagtimePainful TruthSyncopation
Author:Scott Joplin
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“Improvisation was the blood and bone of jazz, and in the classic, New Orleans jazz it was collective improvisation in which each performer, seemingly going his own melodic way, played in harmony, dissonance, or counterpoint with the improvisations of his colleagues. Quite unlike ragtime, which was written down in many cases by its composers and could be repeated note for note (if not expression for expression) by others, jazz was a performer's not a composer's art.”

IfsWayArtCasesWrittenBloodExpressionHarmonyJazzNotesBonesClassicCollectivesPerformersComposerColleaguesNew OrleansImprovisationDissonanceRagtime
Author:Russell Lynes
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“You always want to be the person who doesn't need to be included, but it feels damn good to be among you people. My first Broadway show was Master Class, and I saw Audra McDonald. The one that sealed the deal was Ragtime, with Marin Mazzie. My first big role was with John Lithgow, and he taught me the ropes. Norm Lewis sang the night I met my husband. It makes me feel like I have a family.”

PeopleWantNeedsFeelsFirstsPersonsShowsBigsNightDealsClassRolesSawsTaughtMastersMetsHusbandDamnMy HusbandNormBroadwayRopeMcdonaldsBroadway ShowsDamn GoodRagtime
Author:Kelli O'Hara
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“New Orleans had a great tradition of celebration. Opera, military marching bands, folk music, the blues, different types of church music, ragtime, echoes of traditional African drumming, and all of the dance styles that went with this music could be heard and seen throughout the city. When all of these kinds of music blended into one, jazz was born.”

KindDifferentBornChurchCitiesHeardMilitaryStyleTypeBandTraditionJazzFolksTraditionalCelebrationOperaEchoesNew OrleansFolk MusicDrummingMarching BandRagtimeChurch Music
Author:Wynton Marsalis
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“Marching onward, marching onward Marching to that lovely tune Marching onward, marching onward Happy as a bird in June Sliding onward, sliding onward Listen to that rag Hop and skip now do that slow, oh Do that slow drag Dance slowly, prance slowly Now you hear that pretty rag Dance slowly, prance slowly Now you do the real slow drag Waltz slowly, waltz slowly Listen to the ragtime Hop and skip Now do the slow, oh, do the slow drag”

RealBirdJazzLovelyTunesHopsDragJuneSkipRagsWaltzRagtime
Author:Scott Joplin
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