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COMPACT DISC REVIEW By Jack Rummel   The Rhythmia Is Fine and Dandy Ragged but Right Records RBR 104  Slivers / Bill Driver’s Cakewalk / Shiftless Johnson / Olga Meringue Par / Pleasant Moments Waltz / Fine and Dandy / New Money / Frog Legs Rag / Revelry Rag / Blanche Toucoutou/Can Can / Three-in-One Two Step / Rainbow / Jimmy Driftwood / Levee Revels / Ozark Rag / Valsez, Valsez / Melon Days / The St. Louis Rag.       Being a banjo player, I admit to liking string band music, so I’m pleased as punch that the alumni of the now-defunct Etcetera String Band have gone on and founded two other string bands, The Ragtime Skedaddlers out of San Francisco , and The Rhythmia out of the Kansas City area.  With the addition of this new CD, each of these bands now has two compact discs under their collective belts.  This disc’s title, named for an obscure piece by Charles L. Johnson, says it all, for The Rhythmia is indeed “fine and dandy.”      The band on this recording consists mainly of Pat Ireland on fiddle, Kevin Sanders on guitar and Bob Ault on banjo (both Sanders and Ault also play other instruments which appear here and there throughout the disc).  Sadly, Ault passed away before the recording could be completed, so Clarke Buehling ably fills in on Levee Revels.       Ireland ’s fiddle is the dominant musical voice, with Sanders’ booming guitar keeping steady rhythm and adding bass runs and counterpoints.  Early in the recording, I began to fear that the Ireland/Sanders one-two punch would overwhelm Ault’s plucked banjo, but my worries were for naught: Ault’s banjo and mandolin artistry shines through on almost every cut.      The playlist is an excellent mix of the known and the unknown.  Familiar pieces by Scott Joplin (Pleasant Moments Waltz), James Scott (Frog Legs Rag) and Tom Turpin (The St. Louis Rag) are balanced by totally new additions to my library by Charles L. Johnson (Fine and Dandy) and Percy Wenrich (Rainbow, an Indian Intermezzo).  The band also performs three Latin-tinged numbers: two Creole pieces from Louisiana (The medley Blanche Toucoutou/Can Can and Valsez, Valsez) and a folk dance from Haiti (Olga Meringue Par).  Ireland adds two original fiddle tunes (Jimmy Driftwood and Melon Days) and a traditional hoedown (New Money).  Other cakewalks and rags complete the list – all done well.      To my ear, two pieces stood out above the rest.  Revelry Rag is a contemporary rag by Sanders and Susan Cordell that is just catchy and different enough to win my vote as best cut.  Levee Revels by W.C. O’Hare is a close second.  The arrangement is by Ault, and while Buehling’s playing is faultless, it is sad that Ault didn’t live long enough to record it himself.      The balance between the instruments is very good and the sound is pristine.  The liner notes are extensive and folksy, often featuring obscure tidbits about interesting things unrelated to the pieces (such as the friendship between Johnson and Ginger Rogers).  If you like string band music (how could you not?), this CD by The Rhythmia should be on your must-have list.      Available for $10.00 postpaid from Kevin Sanders, P.O. Box 209 , Bonner Springs , KS 66012 .  Also available for $9.99 plus shipping from <www.cdbaby.com> and downloadable from <www.amazonmp3.com> and <www.apple.com/itunes>.” - Jack Rummel

Ragtime Reviews (12-15-2012)

The Rhythmia is Fine and Dandy The emphasis here is on ragtime on this interesting and well done album that is billed as “Old Time string band music”.  It’s a three man group from Kansas, led by fiddler Pat Ireland with Kevin Sanders and the late Bob Ault joining in on a variety of instruments including mandolin, 5-string and tenor banjo, banjo-guitar, etc.  There is a lot of music here, and an impressive list of tunes that have seldom—if ever—been recorded before.  I love their arrangements of THREE IN ONE TWO-STEP and the old Fiddlin Doc Roberts piece NEW MONEY. ” - unknown

County Sales Catalog

An intriguing contrast in sound came from the string band Rhythmia, with Pat Ireland on fiddle, Bob Ault on mandolin and Kevin Sanders on guitar. Joplin's pieces adapt attractively to voicings on different instruments. Using arrangements published by Stark in 1903, the group played "Sunflower Slow Drag," "Pleasant Moments" and "Maple Leaf Rag," where the fiddle carried the melody and the others offered rhythm accompaniment.  The members of the ensemble Rhythmia showed ragtime is more than piano music with their period arrangement for strings of Scott Joplin's compositions.” - Marty Bishoff

The Monett Times

COMPACT DISC REVIEW By Jack Rummel  November 22, 2010  The Rhythmia Pat Ireland, Kevin Sanders and Bob Ault Ragged But Right Recordings, RBR 103   Dill Pickles Rag / Sunflower Slow Drag / Cha Bai / Peaceful Henry / Impecunious Davis / Pauv Piti Momzei Zizi / Pigeon Wing Rag / Zorita / Corn Shucks / The Kaiser’s Rag / Walking Conga / The Thriller / Kansas City Rag / Manchega / Proud & Prosperous / Rag Pickings / Forsythia / Smoky Mokes / Ragged Edges / Dixie Twilight.        Formed in 1973, the Etcetera String Band of Kansas City was one of a very small number of groups that kept early string band ragtime alive, and when they disbanded a few years ago the ragtime community suffered a great loss.  However, it appears that what actually occurred was a form of mitosis, because when Dennis Pash migrated to California he formed a new group, The Ragtime Skedaddlers, and three Etcetera alumni who remained in the Kansas/Missouri area – Kevin Sanders, Pat Ireland and Bob Ault – have since come together to form The Rhythmia.      Ireland ’s violin provides a strong lead voice to their arrangements, while Sanders’ guitar plays rock-solid rhythm and bass-oriented counter-melodies.  Ault’s various instruments – mandolin, five-string banjo, tenor banjo and ukulele – seem reduced to providing rhythm and touches of added “color,” with the exception of Rag Pickings (composer unknown), where he plays a delightful banjo solo á la Fred Van Eps.      The music on this CD is infectious and ragtime is in abundance.  As expected, Kansas City composers are featured, such as Charles L. Johnson (Dill Pickles Rag, Pigeon Wing Rag and Dixie Twilight), James Scott ( Kansas City Rag), E. Harry Kelly (Peaceful Henry) and Ed Kuhn (Corn Shucks), but also included are rags emanating from such far-flung locations as Topeka (Zorita by Harry Cohn), St. Louis (Sunflower Slow Drag by Joplin and Hayden), Indianapolis (The Thriller by May Aufderheide), Ohio (The Kaiser’s Rag by Clare Mast) and New York City (Impecunious Davis by Kerry Mills and Smoky Mokes by Abe Holzmann).  For added spice, there are three Caribbean-tinged works, Cha Bai, Pauv Piti Momzel Zizi and Gottschalk’s Manchega.      Sanders contributes three originals, Walking Conga, Forsythia and Ragged Edges, and Ireland adds his own fiddle tune, Proud & Prosperous – all are worthy additions to the playlist.  The accompanying text is an excellent example of what liner notes should be: chock full of enlightening information about both the music and the performers.  The sound is clear and intimate and the package is attractive.  Hats off to The Rhythmia for keeping string band ragtime exciting and alive in the Midwest!             Available for $10.00 postpaid from <www.sandersmusic.com>, or for $10.00 plus shipping from Worlds Records <www.worldsrecords.com> and County Sales <www.countysales.com>.  Also available for download for $9.99 from <www.amazonmp3.com> and <www.apple.com/itunes>.” - Jack Rummel

Ragtime Reviews