Ragtime Dance Party
The Crown Syncopators consist of Frederick Hodges (piano), Victoria Tichenor (drums), and Marty Eggers (tuba). They don't seem to have a website, but their appearances are listed on Hodges' event schedule here.
The CD comes with ten pages of liner notes that contain the background on each piece and reproductions of the original sheet music covers. Along with familiar favorites like Scott Joplin, James Reese Europe, and James Scott, I was especially pleased to see in the mix a couple of less-familiar female composers, Grace Marie Bolen and Adeline (or Adaline) Shepherd, both of whose careers were cut short by marriage.
As usual with ragtime, the boundaries between dances are quite fuzzy. The same piece played at a different speed can be a one-step or two-step, or even a foxtrot. Style counts as well; some pieces that are in the right tempo range just don't "feel" foxtrot to me, and some pieces "feel" like cakewalks and others don't. With an experienced group of dancers, I'd just play the tunes and let the dancers find their own way, but for those who are looking for music for specific dances or need a little more guidance, here's how I've categorized each piece. Note that some are listed in multiple categories!
One-Steps/Castle Walks
"Castle House Rag" (1914) - 120 bpm
"The Cake Walk in the Sky" (1899) - 123 bpm
"Pork and Beans" (1913) - 127 bpm
"Pickles and Peppers" (1906) - 129 bpm
"The Lion Tamer Rag" (1913) - 130 bpm
"Honky Tonky" (1916) - 136 bpm
Since one-step is in essence just walking, one can do it to most of the other pieces on this album as well. Some of these predate the one-step and were more likely composed as two-steps or rags purely for listening. But they're all played briskly, and I don't find speedy two-step all that much fun. But for one-step, my preference is for spirited, speedier tunes that let one really fly around the floor. All of these have the right tempo and feel.
Foxtrot
"Hello Frisco Medley" (1915) - 76 bpm
"The Smoky Topaz" (1901) - 76 bpm
"Queen Rag" (1911) - 85 bpm
"Poor Butterfly" (1916) - 88 bpm (speeds up for the last 30 seconds)
"Who Let the Cows Out" (1910) - 97 bpm
"Rabbit's Foot" (1915) - 98 bpm
Once again, some of these tunes predate the foxtrot, but they all have the tempo and feel that says "foxtrot" to me. "Poor Butterfly" is mostly a workable foxtrot or two-step with the occasional pause and about thirty seconds of one-step at the end. Experienced dancers should be able to handle this, but it's the one track on this album I would not throw at beginners.
Two-Step
"The Smoky Topaz" (1901) - 76 bpm
"Queen Rag" (1911) - 85 bpm
"Maori - A Samoan Dance" (1913) - 87 bpm
"Poor Butterfly" (1916) - 88 bpm (see note under foxtrot)
"Who Let the Cows Out" (1910) - 97 bpm
"Whistling Rufus" (1899) - 101 bpm
"Wild Cherries Rag" (1908) - 101 bpm
"Smoky Mokes" (1899) - 105 bpm
"Shake it and Break it" (1920) - 113 bpm
Really, you can two-step to just about any duple-time ragtime piece if it's played at a tempo that's physically possible. "Queen Rag" works, for example, but feels more foxtrot-like to me, while "Smoky Topaz" is more of a cakewalk and despite being at a good foxtrot tempo, does not feel like a foxtrot.
Cakewalk
"The Smoky Topaz" (1901) - 76 bpm
"Smoky Mokes" (1899) - 105 bpm
Despite its name "The Cake Walk in the Sky" doesn't say "cakewalk!" to me, though that may reflect too much modern sensibility on my part, as I haven't done a lot with cakewalk and don't consider my ear for it well-developed.
Waltz
"Pleasant Moments" (1909) - 146 bpm
A Joplin classic.
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As stated above, this is an album I highly recommend for its musical qualities and 100% danceability. CDBaby has kindly put all the tracks from this CD on YouTube for your listening pleasure, and it can be streamed from Amazon as well. But in support of the artists and to get the excellent liner notes, I would suggest purchasing the physical CD, which you can get from CDBaby or from Amazon via the link below:
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