Hot Piano! Ragtime Mark Birnbaum CD reviews

MARK BIRNBAUM: Hot Piano! Ragtime Blues Jazz Classical
Hot Piano! Ragtime Blues Jazz Classical Mark Birnbaum

1 California Here I Come (Desylva/Meyer)
2 Buddy Bolden's Blues (Jelly Roll Morton)
3 Solace (Scott Joplin)
4 Darktown Strutters Ball (Shelton Brooks)
5 Tiger Rag (Traditional, Morton)
6 Sophisticated Lady (Duke Ellington)
7 Shreveport Stomp (Jelly Roll Morton)
8 Rhapsody In Blue (Geroge Gershwin)
9 Sheik Of Araby (Snyder/Smith)
10 My Blue Heaven (Donaldson/Whiting)
11 Alabama Bound Blues (Traditional - Morton)
12 Trickeration (For Cab Calloway) (Harold Arden)
13 Child Of The Stars (Mark Birnbaum)
14 The Fun House (Mark Birnbaum)
15 King Porter Stomp (Jelly Roll Morton)
16 Funeral March (Alexander Scriabin)
17 Kansas City Stomp (Jelly Roll Morton)
18 Reverie (Claude Debussy)
19 Kitten On The Keys (Zez Confrey)
20 An American Dream (Mark Birnbaum)
21 Scott Joplin's New Rag (Scott Joplin)
22 Bergamasque Prelude (Claude DrBussy)
23 Sonata #10 (Alexander Scraibin)
24 Child Of The Earth (Mark Birnbaum)

EJAZZNEWS 2005
CD Reviews: Mark Birnbaum..Hot Piano..Self Produced 2003 Posted by: Adminon Tuesday, May 17, 2005 - 12:00 AM
By John Gilbert

I admire any musical artist that has command of their instrument and
Mark Birnbaum is a prime example of that
Birnbaum runs the gamut of ragtime, blues, classical and jazz with the
ease of a seasoned performer.
"California Here I Come" rips along like the roadrunner on steroids.
Pure excitement abounds as Mark Birnbaum's flying fingers bring us back
to another time when music was a joy to listen to instead of a chore.
Ragtime reigns supreme.
"Dark Town Strutter's Ball" is a case study in toe tapping rhythm as
Birnbaum struts jauntily through this tune.cocksure and confident.
Another funfilled 2 minutes and thirty six seconds of pianistic
dexterity.
"Tiger Rag" There is no holding this tiger back as the fastest tune this
writer has ever heard is smoked across the keyboard.
Changing gears, Mark Birnbaum salutes Duke Ellington with
"Sophisticated Lady" and displays an Ellingtonian style which is a
complete departure from the aforementioned modus operandi. This song is
soulfully rendered in Duke's svelte machinations.
Now departure is departure in the true sense as Claude Debussy enters
the picture. Birnbaum's interpretation of "Bergamasque Prelude" allows
this fine pianist to exhibit his formal side to the nth. degree.

Versatility, thy name is Birnbaum.

5 STARS

info at cd baby - or Ragtime Mark Birnbaum website
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Issue 042 - December 2005 Artist: Mark Birnbaum
JAZZ VIEWS CD REVIEW
Title: Hot Piano! Ragtime, Blues, Jazz, Classical
Mark Birnbaum (solo piano)

Recorded 2000-2003

Anyone who knows me knows I am not too crazy about solo piano so they hand me a CD of 77 minutes of same to review but, shock, horror! it’s a delight. This is a nicely varied programme and well-played by Mark Birnbaum who is a new name to me but I will look out for him in future. There are two compositions of Scott Joplin, namely ‘Scott Joplin’s New Rag’ and ‘Solace’ which is just about my favourite Joplin piece and is played here with proper love and respect by Mr Birnbaum. No solo piano album would be complete without something by Jelly Roll Morton and here we have no less than six if we count ‘Tiger Rag’ which it gives here as by Morton. The classic side is represented by two compositions by Debussy and two by Alexander Scriabin, one of which is ‘The Funeral March’. Music for all occasions? He also plays Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ which comes in at over nine minutes and I am sure the composer would have approved this version. Novelty ragtime is represented by Zez Confrey’s ‘Kitten on the Keys’ and Tin Pan Alley by ‘Darktown Strutters Ball’, ‘Sheik of Araby’ and ‘My Blue Heaven’. There is also Duke Ellington’s ’Sophisticated Lady’ and something by Harold Arlen called ‘Trickeration’. The set is completed by four original compositions by Mark Birnbaum none of which really sets the woods on fire. A mixed bag then of which I feel that Morton and Joplin numbers come off best – but that could be me showing my age. Finally, mention of Scott Joplin enables me to put in a plug for the Scott Joplin House in St. Louis. It is a little off the tourist track but is well worth a visit.

Lawrence Marshall