Paperback, 364 pages, (February 1974)
Amazon Review
THE Source For Starting A Ragtime Collection
What? You play ragtime and you don't own this book YET? Think of it. 81 rags for how much? As an experienced ragtime artist, who got this book when it first came out in the 1970s, I can tell you that not only will it be a great start to your ragtime collection, but it will give you a foundation for the absolute best of piano ragtime. While you won't find ALL of Joplin's rags, nor a complete listing of those by Lamb and Scott, you will still see the core of what made them so notable. Hidden gems are the five Pastime Rags by Artie Matthews, works by pioneer Tom Turpin, and many solid rags from lesser-known composers like Clarence Woods. On eBay, should you find all of these pieces, you would easily spend over [what I expcted to] on the Joplin, Lamb, and Scott rags alone. Instead, it's less than 25 cents per piece. So what are you waiting for! Get it now! Also, look at other books edited by Dave Jasen. They constitute a great way to build a solid ragtimelibrary with little repetition.