World-Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest
Every year on Memorial Day Weekend talented ragtime, blues and stride pianists from around the country head to Peoria, Illinois hoping for a chance to win $1,200 and the bragging rights of being a world champion.
Scott Joplin Festival
The first week of June in Sedalia, Missouri is heaven for ragtime fans. The Scott Joplin Festival features top-notch performers for the more than 6,000 visitors that flock to this quaint town every year.
West Coast Ragtime Festival
The West Coast Ragtime Festival is held every November in Sacramento, California. Presenting various pianists, jazz bands and dancers in 6 comfortable venues, this festival starts on Friday afternoon and continues until early Sunday evening.
John William "Blind" Boone Ragtime & Early Jazz Festival
Taking place in Columbia, Missouri, the "Blind" Boone Ragtime & Early Jazz Festival is usually held right after the Scott Joplin Festival.
International "Bohém" Ragtime & Jazz Festival
If you're willing to travel all the way to Kecskemét, Hungary, you're in for a treat! The International "Bohém" Ragtime & Jazz Festival is held there every March.
Ragfest
Held every year in Fullerton, California, Ragfest features a wonderful mix of ragtime, blues, boogie and stride pianists.
Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival
A beautiful historic gold mining town is the setting for this wonderful three day festival. Haven't you always wanted to listen to ragtime at a place called the Ice Cream Emporium?
Northern Virginia Ragtime Society
The oldest organization of its kind, the Northern Virginia Ragtime Society presents bi-monthly concerts featuring leading ragtime and stride pianists.
James P. Johnson Foundation
The James P. Johnson Foundation, located in Riverside, California, was created to promote the musical legacy of James P. Johnson by sponsoring various artists and educational programs.
Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation
Sedalia, Missouri is the home of the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation, which is responsible for the annual Scott Joplin Festival. They also produce a bi-annual newsletter entitled "The Sedalia Rag."
West Coast Ragtime Society
Located in Sacramento, California, the West Coast Ragtime Society meets once a year and produces the world famous West Coast Ragtime Festival.
Sacramento Ragtime Society
With over 150 members, the Sacramento Ragtime Society meets every month and publishes a monthly newsletter.
Bohemia Ragtime Society
Founded on the 103rd anniversary of the birth of Joseph Lamb, the Bohemia Ragtime Society is located in Littleton, Colorado. They also produce the "Top Liner Rag" newsletter.
Sue Keller-Vigorita
The artist formerly known as "Sue Keller" has probably performed at every ragtime festival in the United States. She's also traveled across the globe playing for audiences in Japan, China, Australia and Germany. And according to rumors, her husband Howard married her for the tax benefits...
Brian Holland
Unless you've had the pleasure of listening to stride pianist Brian Holland, you would never guess that someone so relaxed and laid-back could play with such technical prowess. He's also a 3-time winner of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest.
Mimi Blais
As a classically trained concert pianist, Mimi Blais brings a rich new dimension to ragtime. Hailed as the "Queen of Ragtime," she's best known for her classical renditions of ragtime classics. Mimi has won the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest twice, in 1994 & 2000.
Alex Hassan
An extremely talented technical player, Alex Hassan is probably the world's foremost authority on novelty piano and Billy Mayerl. Alex is also the president of the Northern Virginia ragtime Society.
John Royen
As a protégé of Don Ewell, it's no wonder that John Royen has the confident touch of a stride pianist. For over 20 years John has played with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans. He's also toured the world with numerous other traditional jazz bands, including The Dukes of Dixieland, The Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble and The Original Dixieland Jazz Band.
Bill Edwards
If you like corny jokes, you'll love "Perfessor" Bill Edwards! Although he specializes in ragtime, he's very comfortable playing blues, novelty, stride and sing-along standards. In 1991, he won the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest.
Jeff Barnhart
An extremely energetic performer, Jeff Barnhart is definitely a world-class stride pianist. In addition to being a soloist, Jeff also tours the world with several traditional jazz bands including the Titan Hot Seven.
Dave Tucker
Another fellow Washingtonian, Dave Tucker specializes in ragtime, novelty and stride piano. Dave has recently become the pianist of the New Hots Swing Jazz Orchestra. Be sure to check out his blog!
Bob Milne
Author of "The Journeyman Piano Player," Bob Milne specializes in ragtime and boogie woogie. And as Bob will tell you himself, he hates PSOs (Piano Shaped Objects.) You know.. pianos that look like pianos, but usually are horribly out of tune, missing keys, etc.
Carl "Sonny" Leyland
If you're a boogie woogie fanatic, you won't be content until you've heard Carl's wonderful stylings. Be sure to check out his mp3 samples.
Neville Dickie
Hailing from the UK, Neville Dickie is considered by many to be one of the world's greatest boogie woogie and stride pianist.
Adam Downey
Although currently a PhD graduate student at Michigan State University, Adam Downey still finds time to play the piano. He won the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest in 2002, and previously won the Junior Division 3 times in a row.
Judy Carmichael
Swing and stride pianist Judy Carmichael got her start in ragtime just like any child should: a $50 bribe from a grandparent to learn the Maple Leaf Rag.
Butch Thompson
Although Butch is famous in traditional jazz circles as an outstanding band pianist and clarinetist, his real forte is as a solo pianist à la Jelly Roll Morton.
Paul Asaro
Stride pianist Paul Asaro is force to be reckoned with! A specialist in the styles of Willie "The Lion" Smith, Jelly Roll Morton and Fats Waller, he currently tours with Leon Redbone.
Brent Watkins
Ragtime and stride pianist Brent Watkins is currently involved in a historical narrative project called "The Heroes of Parlor Town."
Dalton Ridenhour
As a recent graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Dalton is ready to take his ragtime, stride and jazz piano abilities wherever they may lead him, even to New York City!
Ethan Uslan
A great pianist from Charlotte, North Carolina, Ethan specializes in stride and novelty arrangements of 1920s and 1930s standards. He won the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest in 2007.
John Farrell
A truly remarkable collection of stride, blues, boogie and traditional jazz MIDI files. For years John Farrell has been transcribing the recordings of great jazz pianists (James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, Ralph Sutton, Cliff Jackson, Donald Lambert, Pete Johnson and Don Ewell just to name a few!) and using those transcription to make 88-note jazz piano rolls. A few years ago he decided to bring his transcription into the computer-age by sequencing them into MIDI Files. Piano rolls and sheet music of his transcriptions are also available on his website.
John Roache
John Roache could probably be described as the "father" of ragtime & stride MIDI sequencers. His collection comprises a variety of early jazz piano styles including ragtime, stride, blues, novelty and contemporary ragtime. Also included are biographies of contemporary ragtime performers and composers. Unfortunately John Roache died in 1999, but his legacy continues through the support of Irwin Schwartz.
Irwin Schwartz
A great collection of ragtime, novelty and stride piano MIDI files. Be sure to check out the "Cutting Contest" for a computer-age showdown between Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, Jelly Roll Morton, Art Tatum and Dick Wellstood!
Bill Edwards
Straight from the "Perfessor" himself, a huge collection of live-played MIDI files covering the gamut of ragtime, novelty, blues, stride, marches and old-time jazz standards.
Sue Keller-Vigorita
Over 130 live-played MIDI files by pianist Sue Keller. Now if they could only put some of her outlandish jokes on the website...
Warren Trachtman
A wonderful collection of ragtime MIDI files that focuses on Scott Joplin, James Scott and Joseph Lamb. He also has live-played MIDI files by John Petley, Alex Hassan, Tom Roberts, Terry Parish and John Arpin. Warren has also done a lot of work on piano samples that make MIDI files sound better on your computer.
Mike Meddings
Although Mike is more famously known for his research on the life of Jelly Roll Morton, he also has a nice collection of Jelly Roll Morton tunes. Also included are MIDI files by Warren Trachtman, Irwin Schwartz and Bill Edwards.
Manus Hand
This small collection focuses on the works of Eubie Blake and Luckey Roberts.
Elite Syncopations Radio
This internet radio station is a great place to listen to ragtime, novelty and early jazz recordings 24 hours a day. This station features a wide array of modern ragtime pianists and bands to complement the vast collection of vintage recordings. Be sure to tune in on Tuesdays from 8pm - 10pm for their live broadcast and join the chat room for a great interactive experience!
The Mississippi Rag
Considered by many to be the "bible" of the traditional jazz and ragtime world, The Mississippi Rag is a monthly newspaper that covers jazz history, festivals and contemporary artists. This newspaper also features extensive reviews of jazz recordings, books and videos.
The Red Hot Jazz Archive
An excellent resource on the history of jazz before 1930. Includes biographies of famous musicians, essays and discographies with real audio clips.
StridePiano.com
A wonderful resource on Stride Piano. Includes essays, biographies, reference bibliographies and other resources. StridePiano.com is also the home of the Yahoo! Stride Piano Email Group.
Fats Waller Digital Exhibit
From the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University comes this great website on Fats Waller. Includes pictures, stories, real audio clips and a complete list of selected readings.
Willie "The Lion" Smith
A documentary film about piano legend Willie "The Lion" Smith. Includes the film script, recordings, pictures and a timeline of his career.
Jelly Roll Morton
An exhaustive biography on Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe, more famously known as Jelly Roll Morton. Includes numerous newspaper articles, essays, photographs and recordings.