Graceful Ghost: Contemporary Piano Rags 1960-2021 [CD]

Upon it's initial release in 1994, The Graceful Ghost charted new musical ground as one of the first recorded surveys of "contemporary" piano ragtime from a broad range of composers. The album's 15 tracks included works by William Bolcom, Max Morath, Trebor Jay Tichenor, Terry Waldo, Hal Isbitz, Donald Ashwander, William Albright, and others, in dynamic performances by virtuoso pianist Matthew de Lacey Davidson that highlighted the rhythmic and expressive possibilities in modern ragtime. The album was a critical success, and it set the stage for recordings of new ragtime by other artists in the years that followed. In celebration of the album's 30th anniversary, Rivermont is pleased to present this deluxe collector's edition including more than 70 minutes of newly recorded music, expanding the scope of the original album to include works from 1960-2021 and adding pieces by Tom Shea, Peter Lundberg, Robin Frost, Ross Petot, Galen Wilkes, Bob Darch, and others. The original 1994 recordings sound better than ever thanks to expert remastering by renowned engineer Doug Benson, and the new recordings made in 2023 prove that Davidson's formidable technique has lost none of it's brilliance. From the rollicking "Brun Campbell Express" to the haunting "Sleepwalker's Shuffle" to the nostalgic "Golden Hours" to the touching "Desdemona" to the dazzling "Bell Rag," The Graceful Ghost is a musical tour-de-force packed with 37 selections sure to delight any lover of syncopated piano music. This specially-priced 2-CD set contains two-and-a-half hours of music along with a handsome 20-page booklet featuring insightful notes by Galen Wilkes, Jeff Barnhart, and Matthew de Lacey Davidson.