Bay Sound Records Reviews

Dualing at the Mc Coys

Nan--
I was delighted by what you brought for me--the Ephemeralist, the WCRS program, and also your first CD. I say "first CD" as I expect that those who hear it, and that you trust, will be more than encouraging about your first effort and will also be sincere when they say that they would like to hear more recordings of what you deem worthy of your attention.

The duet format worked particularly well with the selections of music you chose. It was comforting for me to sense that both of you were comfortable with the music and with each other. The resulting arrangements were clear, balanced, and musical. The recording technique was flawless and un-doctored. I'm sure that pianists of your acquaintance who hear this CD will applaud what you've achieved and probably look up Lou for recording projects. Lou has excellent technology--and that technology doesn't call attention to itself in any way that gets in front of what the artist intends to present.

Lou achieved recording studio standards in what I recall is a slightly reverberant great room. Studio recordings are as close as I can imagine to how artists perceive their own efforts, as they tend to filter out background noises and other distractions as they play.

Mr. Ware and the contributors in this issue are again achieving at their usual high level of taste and authority. I'd be curious to know if there is some news group, or web-posting place to share thoughts that the Ephemeralist triggers. It would certainly be worthwhile, as I think that Chris must be inundated with letters filled with observations, and regrettably can share only a few in subsequent issues.

It was great to see you.
calendar. --Bob

Dear, dear Nan,

I received your package and I was overwelmed by such great music!! It is most definately the most wonderful thing I have ever gotten through the mail since my uncle and Aunt sent all the brothers socks and Popcorn (!) to us for Christmas when I was a kid.

I am really not exaggerating!! It was such a great surprise..such a lot of great music to play and then, on top of that, your fantastic CD..It has already become my favorite CD in my collection ( with one exception...!!! my own..which I would like to send you as a personal Thank you!) I will be wearing out the "grooves" of the CD ( if such a thing is possible!!) by playing your music ( and Uncle Charlies Music of course too) as often as I can... My poor neighbors will probably be asking for their own copy...
Seldom have I heard such JOY of Life put into music. I can tell from your liner notes that you are a wonderful person but the way you and your partner ( give him my compliments!) make the listener feel so good...makes me sure that you enjoy life very much!!
Listening to the CD was even better that having such great arrangements! My little Casanova Society Orchestra will have it's work cut out for it just trying to get that feel of Life that you both put into it!!
I was going to send you a CD of us..but after hearing your CD ( how DID you guys arrange those songs for 2 Pianos??) the whole bunch of us are in AWE!

May God bless you,
till soon,
Gregor DuBuclet

Director, Hansa Theater and CasaNova Society Orchestra, Berlin,
Germany

Dear Nan,
Glad to have aired some of that fine new disc!
You & Tom make one hell of an "odd couple", but the music is superb!

Regards, Nick Dragos, KXJZ

Nick Dragos, Classic Jazz, Capital Public Radio - KXJZ 88.9
(Sacramento)

Nan-- I was delighted by what you brought for me--the Ephemeralist, the WCRS program, and also your first CD. I say "first CD" as I expect that those who hear it, and that you trust, will be more than encouraging about your first effort and will also be sincere when they say that they would like to hear more recordings of what you deem worthy of your attention. The duet format worked particularly well with the selections of music you chose. It was comforting for me to sense that both of you were comfortable with the music and with each other. The resulting arrangements were clear, balanced, and musical. The recording technique was flawless and un-doctored. I'm sure that pianists of your acquaintance who hear this CD will applaud what you've achieved and probably look up Lou for recording projects. Lou has excellent technology--and that technology doesn't call attention to itself in any way that gets in front of what the artist intends to present. Lou achieved recording studio standards in what I recall is a slightly reverberant great room. Studio recordings are as close as I can imagine to how artists perceive their own efforts, as they tend to filter out background noises and other distractions as they play. Mr. Ware and the contributors in this issue are again achieving at their usual high level of taste and authority. I'd be curious to know if there is some news group, or web-posting place to share thoughts that the Ephemeralist triggers. It would certainly be worthwhile, as I think that Chris must be inundated with letters filled with observations, and regrettably can share only a few in subsequent issues. It was great to see you. calendar. --Bob	Dear, dear Nan, I received your package and I was overwelmed by such great music!! It is most definately the most wonderful thing I have ever gotten through the mail since my uncle and Aunt sent all the brothers socks and Popcorn (!) to us for Christmas when I was a kid. I am really not exaggerating!! It was such a great surprise..such a lot of great music to play and then, on top of that, your fantastic CD..It has already become my favorite CD in my collection ( with one exception...!!! my own..which I would like to send you as a personal Thank you!) I will be wearing out the "grooves" of the CD ( if such a thing is possible!!) by playing your music ( and Uncle Charlies Music of course too) as often as I can... My poor neighbors will probably be asking for their own copy... Seldom have I heard such JOY of Life put into music. I can tell from your liner notes that you are a wonderful person but the way you and your partner ( give him my compliments!) make the listener feel so good...makes me sure that you enjoy life very much!! Listening to the CD was even better that having such great arrangements! My little Casanova Society Orchestra will have it's work cut out for it just trying to get that feel of Life that you both put into it!! I was going to send you a CD of us..but after hearing your CD ( how DID you guys arrange those songs for 2 Pianos??) the whole bunch of us are in AWE! May God bless you, till soon, Gregor DuBuclet Director, Hansa Theater and CasaNova Society Orchestra, Berlin, Germany
Nan Bostick and Tom Brier display their talents on "Dueling at the McCoy's". Featuring the music of Charles N. Daniels AKA Neil Moret and L'Albert. Under these three names Mr. Daniels composed an impressive number of superb songs I would place on the same shelf with Scott Joplin. (At Least) Nan Bostick is Mr. Daniels grandniece. Not only a fine musician and composer, Nan is also a published writer and historian. As a teacher with "Music Together" she has eleven classes in progress. She is one of ragtime's favorite performers, traveling around the country giving concerts and performing at festivals. Tom Brier has an immense reputation among his peers as an outstanding musician and composer. Using his many talents, Tom even provides music for silent movie events. The great performance Nan & Tom give on the entire album is a fitting tribute to Charles N. Daniels. Jim Diffey Host: "Looking Back" Radio KVMR, FM 89.5 Nevada City, CA	Dear Nan, Glad to have aired some of that fine new disc! You & Tom make one hell of an "odd couple", but the music is superb! Regards, Nick Dragos, KXJZ Nick Dragos, Classic Jazz, Capital Public Radio - KXJZ 88.9 (Sacramento)
COMPACT DISC REVIEW By Jack Rummel Host: "Ragtime America" Radio KGNU FM 88.5 Boulder, CO Once in a while a recording is produced that is not only good listening but is also of historical importance. This is such a recording. Charles N. Daniels (1878-1943) was a seminal figure in the early days of ragtime, not just as a composer of popular music but perhaps more importantly as a publisher of ragtime who had an ear for a good tune. As such he wasresponsible for the printed distribution of many fine rags of that era and is perhaps second only to John Stark for championing composers whose works we might not otherwise have today. Nan Bostick is Daniels’ grand-niece and she has teamed up with another Californian, Tom Brier, to present a collection of rags and period pieces, all of which were either written or promoted by the man she lovingly calls “Uncle Charlie.” The result is a musical history of Daniels’ activities during the formative years of ragtime. Daniels wrote under two pseudonyms besides his own name (Neil Moret and L’Albert) and they are all represented here, as are the works of others that he published, such as Grace Bolen (The Smoky Topaz), Fred S. Stone (Ma Ragtime Baby and Sue) and Harry P. Guy (Echoes from the Snowball Club and Pearl of the Harem). The pianos are not identified but one would suspect that Bostick is on the left channel and Brier is on the right. If this is correct, then she plays the melodies and he supplies the trills, fills and frills, which can be anything from doubling the melody to adding broken chords to creating harmony and counterpoint. Tempos are mostly in the medium or medium-fast range. The dynamics offer little variation and are mostly heavy. The coordination of the pianos is generally good but lacks precision here and there. The sound quality is excellent and the liner notes are a veritable textbook on Daniels, displaying Bostick’s considerable skills at research with twenty pages that are bursting with photos and history. It is hard to pick favorites, but I especially liked Louisiana , a slower, more delicate rag and a lovely contrast to the many other brisk pieces. Other favorites were Pearl of the Harem, a raggy two-step with a great A-strain; Sue, a brisk march; Sugar Plum, with its tango trio; That Poker Rag and Dolores, a romantic tango. Nan Bostick has put together an impressive package and her choice of Tom Brier to add interest with his improvisations was a good one. Think of this as an aural and visual slice of history – and a fun one, to boot – and think of adding it to your collection. Review by Claude Hall Diatribe: Old Friends and New Music There was a time in the long years ago when music was fun and I had fun listening to it (to tell the truth, I loved and lived music all of those days). Those days eventually drifted away and where they went and why I do not know. I have lamented their passing for many whiles. Now, out of the mystic-laced woodwork of my past, I receive a Bay Sound CD titled "Dualing at the McCoys" featuring Nan Bostick and Tom Brier. Not dueling. Dualing. You'd have to ask Nan about that. Music, once again, that is fun! Lou Dorren, who produced the record, says this duo-piano instrumental CD is already being played by some college radio stations. Several aspects are important here. The CD was recorded by Lou Dorren with his unique and quite magical portable Xytar Digital System equipment(website: Xytar.com), thus the acoustics are exceptional and probably the clearest sound you'll hear this side of Heaven. Lou is without question a genius and even more so when it comes to sound; he invented a way decades yonder to broadcast quadrasonic sound on FM radio; quad was eventually destroyed by a great titanic battle between CBS and RCA. If you didn't get to hear real discrete four-channel music by the Doobie Brothers, your life is not quite complete. But, enough about Lou; he needs naught from me because he is involved in several enormous acoustic projects that will be announced in coming weeks. I warn you though: I'm totally and undeniable biased, of course, about this CD. Both Lou and Nan are old and dear friends. All of the music on this CD was composed and/or connected with Nan's great uncle Charles N. Daniels, better known to the world as Neil Moret, who worked for the music publishing firms of his day before starting his own music publishing firm. A classical pianist, Daniels worked as a music demonstrator back in the heyday of sheet music. When potential customers asked to hear how a ragtime tune sounded, he would perform it from the sheet music. In time, he became noted for ragtime. And he began writing; his "Imperial Courier Two Steps, a march, dates from 1897. When baritone Harry Haley asked Daniels to compose him a new waltz to sing for a fund-raiser gala, the result was "You Tell Me Your Dream, I'll Tell You Mine." His biggest hit was "Sweet and Lovely" penned as Jules Lemare in 1931 (he wrote more than 400 tunes under at least eight different names). My favorite tune on this CD is "Dark Eyes" written by Neil Moret in 1907. It's a romantic ballad. Soft, lovely. It demands a low flame in a fireplace and a soft woman in your arms. The piano work of Nan and Tom is excellent. But the main focus of Nan Bostick on this particular CD is some of the raucous ragtime material dating beyond the turn of the century. This includes "My Ragtime Baby," a fun-spirited work that you must hear with the volume turned up in order to gather its fullimpact. It was written in 1898 by Fred S. Stone, the leader of an all-black orchestra in Detroit, and performed by John P. Sousa at the 1900 Paris Expo where it won a prize. The Bostick-Brier CD, however, is more than just ragtime; "Echoes From the Snowball Club" (1898) written by Harry P. Guy reveals complex musical passages. In fact, a lot of the works on this disc, entertaining as they may be, were not easy to perform. This includes "Silver Heels" by Moret published in 1905 and the enchanting "Dolores." My compliments to Ms. Bostick and Mr. Brier. Nan has certainly succeeded in bringing more than an hour of enjoyable music by her great uncle Charles N. Daniels back to hell-raising life, starting with "Margery" and ending with "Borneo Rag." "Dualing at the McCoys" was recorded at the Northern California home of Phyllis McCoy, a wondrous and elusive place evidently replete with ancient musical instruments, 78 rpm records, and, often, jam sessions of ragtime, traditional jazz, and ukulele. A fun CD!	Here are two outstanding ragtime pianists paying tribute to Charles N. Daniels, an important composer/publisher of the ragtime era and beyond. Born in Kansas in 1878, he spent his formative years in Missouri. As a young man he worked as a sheet music demonstrator for Carl Hoffman, owner of a piano store in Kansas City. Beginning in 1897 Hoffman began to publish the songs that Daniels was writing. In 1899 be wrote his first big hit, “You Tell Me Your Dream, I’ll Tell You Mine.” His reputation was now such that when Hoffman published “Original Rags,” the first rag of an unknown black composer named Scott Joplin, he included “Arranged by Chas. N. Daniels” on the cover as a selling point. The prolific Daniels wrote 400 pieces under eight different pen names, the most familiar of which was Neil Moret. Several numbers have become standards: “Moonlight and Roses,” She’s Funny That Way,” “Chlo-e,” “Song of the Wanderer,” and “Sweet and Lovely” come to mind. These later accomplishments, however, are not included in the program under review here, which concentrates on the first decade of the 20th century. Nan Bostick, pianist/writer/lecturer, is the grand niece of Charles N. Daniels, whom she refers to as “Uncle Charlie.” She wrote the extensive and informative notes for the CD booklet, which contains pictures of her uncle, sheet music covers, Tom Brier, and herself. She explains that not all the pieces she and Tom perform are Daniels compositions, but those that are not were either published or promoted by him. For instance, “The Smoky Topaz,” a charming number by a 17-year-old girl named Grace Bolen, was the first rag Daniels published. Ms. Bostick includes a paragraph or two about each selection performed. Tom Brier, the other pianist on this duet CD, became known a few years ago as Sacramento’s ragtime boy wonder. He had composed nearly a dozen rags by the time he was eleven. Now in his early thirties, he can take credit for 140 ragtime compositions. Possessed of fantastic chops, never missing a note, he already has several CDs to his credit. He appeared at the Scott Joplin festival in Sedalia, Missouri in 2001 and has concertized extensively. “Granny Nanny” and “Hotrod Tom,” as Bostick and Brier like to bill themselves when they duet at concerts and festivals, make a wonderful team. Both are assertive but sensitive players, and in person both are mischievous and outgoing, reveling in a certain amount of shtick. Despite the CD’s punning title, they are not “dueling,” though. Musically, they are carefully complementing each other to produce a vibrantly rich and unified sound with what might be called piano-roll complexity. Fourteen of the twenty cuts are Daniels compositions. By far the best known is “Hiawatha,” published in 1901. Thanks to John Philip Sousa, whose band took it up, it became an international hit. Although some trad bands have called it “Hiawatha Rag,” it really is not a rag. Another interesting fact is that it was not named after Longfellow’s poetic Indian, but the town of Hiawatha, Kansas. It did start a craze for many “Indian” songs, however; over the next few years. Daniels himself turned out a good many of them, including the delightful “Silver Heels—Indian Intermezzo March Two Step” of 1905. As for ragtime, Daniels came up with some dandy items. “Cotton Time—Ragtime Two-Step” (1905) is a jubilant strut with an effective stop-time trio. “Borneo Rag—An Oriental Pastime” (1911) opens with an exotic minor section that is somewhat oriental, but the strains that follow seem rather occidental. Daniels promoted the work of two black composers, Fred S. Stone and Harry P. Guy. Stone’s catchy “Ma Ragtime Baby” was played by the Sousa band at the Paris Exposition of 1900, winning a prize there and helping to popularize ragtime in Europe. Harry Guy’s stately “Echoes from the Snowball Club” (1898) is cited as the first ragtime waltz. The McCoys (at whose residence the “dualing” took place) are a Northern California family who have an “…extraordinary collection of mechanical instruments, films, 78 records, and sheet music” that has made their home a mecca for musicians and fans of ragtime and traditional jazz. At this excellently recorded session of June 2002 Nan played on a 1925 Steinway grand (Duo Art player) and Tom played on a 1928 Mathushek grand (Welte Mignon player). Reviewed by Bill Mitchell Hi Nan Just received an e mail from my longtime friend Claude Hall about your new CD Dualing at the McCoys. As they say, check is in the mail. Even though I gave up playing music on the Radio some 25 years ago, to concentrate on Sports broadcasting, I've still got many friends that are still spinning the hits, so you can bet I'm gonna do my best to get some airplay for you back here in the Washington-Baltimore area. FYI, if you want a good book to read check out this website jholliday.com All the best, Johnny Holliday ABC Sports Washington D.C.
Hi Nan, I got your CD on Monday and have listened to it twice. It is great. I'm a big fan of piano duets. Barnhart & Holland, French & Kirby, Marielle and Katia LeBeque, Turner & Hyman, Arpin & Wilson, and now Bostick & Brier. I plan to feature it on The Ragtime Show on April 13 at 9 PM. I hope you and Tom can tune in at www.ksbr.net. Every week I like to feature an album that hasn't been heard lately, or a new album, or a particular artist, or a style of Ragtime. I usually pick 5 cuts to play from 9 to about 9:20, talk about the artist and give information as to where one might acquire the CD I'm playing. I also pick a cut to close the show at 10 PM for a final shot. It will be tough to pick the cuts to play so if you have any favorites let me know. Again, thanks for the CD. I'll enjoy playing it on The Ragtime Show on KSBR and look forward to seeing you and Tom again soon. Best regards, Jeff Stone, Producer "The Ragtime Show" Radio KSBR 88.5 FM Thank you for tracking me down--eventually (sorry I didn't connect with you at Monterey)--and for providing the greatest hits of the ragtime-era musician with the most aliases! I'll look forward to playing it the next time I'm on the air. Mike Schmitz Host "From Rags to Wishes" Radio KHDC FM 90.9 Salinas, CA	I got your CD on Monday and have listened to it twice. It is great. I plan to feature it on "The Ragtime Show" on April 13 at 9 PM. I hope you and Tom can tune in at www.ksbr.net. It will be tough to pick the cuts to play so if you have any favorites let me know. David Reffkin "The Ragtime Machine" Radio KUSF 90.3 FM University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA This is a recording that we knew would result from Nan Bostick's research on her great uncle Charlie. That it turned out as a duet with Tom Brier makes it even more significant. It is complete with extensive liner notes that fill in long-lost details of the life and works of Charles N. Daniels. Every ragtime era personality should have a descendent who will take the time and care to preserve family and musical history. Lucille Salerno, Ph.D. Producer, "Early Times" KOPN 89.5 FM Community Radio for Mid-Missouri 915 E. Broadway, Columbia MO 65201
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