On a Circular Staircase

On a Circular StaircaseNOTE: This title is currently available as a digital download only. The CD version is sold out. Adam Swanson is one of the world's foremost performers and historians of American piano ragtime. He has been a featured performer at dozens of ragtime and jazz festivals across the United States and abroad. In May 2008, at sixteen years old, he became the youngest ever to win the World Championship Old Time Piano Playing Contest held in Peoria Illinois, and

NOTE: This title is currently available as a digital download only.
The CD version is sold out.

Adam Swanson is one of the world's foremost performers and historians of American piano ragtime. He has been a featured performer at dozens of ragtime and jazz festivals across the United States and abroad. In May 2008, at sixteen years old, he became the youngest ever to win the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest held in Peoria Illinois, and he went on to become the contest’s only 4-time winner.

Swanson has established something of a reputation for unearthing rare ragtime gems; on this CD as in live performances, he juxtaposes classics like Zez Confrey's "Kitten on the Keys" with seldom-heard treasures such as Charley Thompson's "Buffet-Flat Blues" and Paul Pratt's lively "Wailana Rag Two-Step." The program features many of the "barnburners" Swanson is famous for: Arthur Schutt's tricky novelty "Bluin' the Black Keys," Donald Lambert's magnificent stride arrangement of Edvard Grieg's "Anitra's Dance" from the Peer Gynt Suite, and Robin Frost's astounding "Space Shuffle." Among of the highlights of the disc is the premiere recording of a lost ragtime composition by Arthur Marshall, "The Pea Picker" [a.k.a. “The Pea Pickler”].

The accompanying full-color 12-page booklet features extensive notes by the artist, rare photographs, reproductions of original sheet music covers, and a special introduction by Johnny Maddox. 18 tracks. 51 minutes.

Rivermont catalogue number: BSW-2209

Formats available:

• Apple Lossless (digital download / no physical product)
• MP3 (digital download / no physical product)
  

If you are purchasing a digital download and you do not know whether your playback device is compatible with Apple Lossless, we recommend the universally-compatible MP3 format.  All digital downloads include a PDF digital booklet containing all of the text and images found in the physical CD booklet. If you select Apple Lossless or MP3, you will receive a download link by e-mail upon completion of checkout; no physical product will be mailed to you.

Track list: