Search - Luckey Roberts, Ralph Sutton :: The Circle Recordings

Historic Recordings

B. D. Tutt | London, UK. | 02/04/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Luckey Roberts (1887 - 1968) was one of the founders of the Harlem stride school of piano playing, and one of its most virtuistic exponents. Despite his reputation he was recorded only once in 1946 (the perforamnces here) and twice in 1958.These recordings, made for Rudi Blesh's Circle label, amply demonstrate Roberts' formidable keyboard skills: he plays with tremendous power & with a highly ornamented right hand. What is also apparent is that Roberts was a transitional figure, still very much part of the ragtinme tradition. While "Pork & Beans" is a sensational performance of one of his stride showpieces, and "Railroad Blues" is a virtuoso synthesis of piano blues and the novelty piano tradition, the other four pieces are closer to ragtime that to the works of James P. Johnson. These are important recordings.The remainder of the album contains some of the first commercial recordings made by Ralph Sutton. The early tracks, a series of ragtime numbers from 1949, show that already by the late 1940s Sutton was a powerful swinging pianist. By the later recordings, duos with George Wettling from 1952, he is recognisable as the pianist who has dominated the stride style for the last 50 years. For people new to Sutton this is not the CD to get. For those interested in Luckey Roberts and the history of the stride tradition, it is a vital purchase."