Lara Downes: Reflections: Scott Joplin Reconsidered
Rising Sun Music

Almost fifty years ago, a resurgence of interest in Scott Joplin (1868-1917) transpired when the popular soundtrack to The Sting included “The Entertainer.” Adapted by Marvin Hamlisch for the 1973 film and written by Joplin in 1902, the ragtime song became an unexpected hit and brought its creator a newfound level of recognition. While jazz artists had long been appreciative of Joplin's work, his was a name that had grown less familiar to the general public, something the film changed dramatically, if only for a time.

Now it's pianist Lara Downes who's reminding us of the bounty of riches to be found in his creative work and to make clear that there's considerably more deserving of attention than one undeniably rousing song. Reflections: Scott Joplin Reconsidered sits comfortably alongside much else the NYC-based pianist has done in celebrating the work of esteemed American artists such as Leonard Bernstein and Billie Holiday. Reconsideration here has to do with celebrating Joplin as a figure whose accomplishments far exceed the material for which he's best known. There are selections from his opera Treemonisha, heartfelt ballads, and, naturally, rags, with some arrangements featuring Downes on solo piano and others pairing her with a partner or chamber ensemble. Consequently, a fuller portrait of the artist is achieved as well as a greater appreciation for the scope of Joplin's artistry.

The album's the second full-length to appear on Downes's Rising Sun Music, which she established in 2020 to explore the rich lineage of Black American composers. As she notes in a superb essay included with the release, Joplin's music reflects an abundance of influences: “his father's plantation melodies; his piano teacher's sonatas and fantasies; decorous parlor waltzes in the homes his mother cleaned; [and] boisterous “jig-piano” tunes in the saloons and brothels where he played in his youth.” We hear in the album's seventeen selections evidence of his classical roots, his ambitious stylistic range, and pieces that anointed him “The King of Ragtime” three years before his death.

They're typically short but abundant in charm and melody. Downes nicely frames the recording with two selections from Joplin's 1911 opera Treemonisha, starting with a lovely solo piano prelude and ending with the more elaborately arranged “A Real Slow Drag,” featuring the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and the ensemble. Buoyancy is in generous supply when the album includes infectious tunes like “Weeping Willow,” “Euphonic Sounds,” “Swipesy,” and “Peacherine Rag,” all given spirited readings by Downes. A similarly effervescent character infuses “Maple Leaf Rag,” though this time the performance features the pianist and the chamber ensemble—christened ‘The Band,' it comprises violinists Judy Kang and Chiara Fasi, violist Tia Allen, cellist Yves Dharamraj, and clarinetist/saxophonist Kevin Sun—in an adorable rendition of his greatest hit. “Magnetic Rag,” his final published composition, sings as sweetly in their hands.

Of course Reflections wouldn't be complete without a treatment of “The Entertainer,” which Downes smartly fashions into a call-and-response duet with mandolinist Joe Brent. The equally lively “Elite Syncopations” charms as much when it pairs her with violinist Adam Abeshouse, and another highlight occurs when baritone Will Liverman joins the pianist for the world-premiere recording of “A Picture of Her Face,” a tender and touching lament. Two songs commemorate Joplin's wife Freddie, who died a mere ten weeks after their wedding, “The Chrysanthemum” and “Bethena” (“the first to woo her, the second to mourn her,” in Downse's words). Whereas affection veritably oozes from the former in its lyrical sparkle, the plaintive latter's marked by an understandable yearning.

March 2022