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Scott Joplin was born in east Texas in 1897 0r 1868 and died, of syphilis, in New York in 1917 Joplin does not appear on film anywhere, however there are several pianola rolls which record his playing of some of his own compositions. You will probably be familiar with his composition The Entertainer from it’s use in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Joplin was either a virtuoso pianist or a very poor player who composed his music sitting at a table, depending on which contemporary source you believe. Some of the differences of opinion may have to do with the ravages of the disease which damages the central nervous system. His ability to play the piano may have been severely deteriorated later in his career.

Ragtime was the first musical style to introduce syncopation to the mainstream of American music, yet to our ears it often seems stiff and bound to straight time. At the turn of the twentieth century this was a radical departure from the rhythmic standards. I have found two YouTube videos made from two performances of Maple Leaf Rag. The first is very straightforward, seeming somewhat stiff to modern ears, yet played very fast, much faster than most renditions of Maple Leaf Rag that I am used to hearing. It shows a bit of syncopation beginning in the middle section, yet is well within the bounds of “ragtime” as we know it. There is a bit of hesitancy, a slowing in one section in the middle and just a bit of raggedness. Because the open player piano was filmed as the music is played you can see the keys, and the hammers, responding to Joplin’s fingers.

The second is an amazing departure. There are several mistakes, or at least departures from the written score, yet starting in that same middle section the music suddenly swings as much as a big band from the mid 1930s. The playing is strong and confident throughout, even with the occasional blip. It shows a growth in rhythmic understanding far beyond what is expected for his time. Swing is a difficult concept to talk about and much easier to learn by listening. It is a kind of syncopation which moves the beat slightly off of it’s expected time.. Melody notes are often played ahead of the beat, yet rhythm sections contribute mightily to swing. The beat is regular and steady yet not on the beat. See, I told you it was hard to talk about. Listen to how Joplin’s left hand (the bass notes) and chords make this version swing.

I have read online that one of Joplin’s pianola roll renditions of Maple Leaf Rag is “shocking” and “disorganized and completely distressing to hear.” The one that swings?

If you were around in the 50s and 60s you probably remember Jimmy Durante on your black and white TV saying “Stop da music,” making jokes about his nose and closing with “Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.”

Jimmy Durante started his show business career in New York as “Ragtime Jimmy” playing the piano. Sometime after their historic 1917 “first jazz recording” Durante joined The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the band responsible for making people think of traditional New Orleans jazz as music played by white guys in striped blazers and straw hats. By the mid 1920s Durante was appearing in vaudeville and on radio. In the 1930s Durante began to appear in movies. His film parts invariably were based on his self effacing humor and his deliberate butchering of the English Language. I particularly like his big death scene in “It’s A Mad Mad Mad World,” “It’s under the big dubya.”

Here is Durante singing his signature song “Inka Dinka Doo,” which had been his first hit record, in 1934. This is a clip from the 1944 film “Two Girls and a Sailor.” He is accompanied by Harry James and his orchestra.

Jesse Fuller started his professional music career late in life, when he was unable to find work, after having been a shipyard welder during WWII. Starting out as a street performer, he became quite popular in the San Francisco area and in Los Angeles during the 1950s. He is best known as the author of “San Francisco Bay Blues,” the song that he plays in this film. The Grateful Dead covered several of his songs in the 60s.

This piece of film, from 1963, appears to have been made in Jessee Fuller’s home in Oakland California. In addition to his 12 string guitar, he is playing a harmonica, a kazoo, a high hat and an instrument that he invented, called the “fotdella,” which consists of a sound box with six bass strings, struck by hammers that were activated by foot pedals. He was able to accompany himself in several keys on this instrument while singing and playing his other instruments.