Originally composed for the 2003 World Championship of Old-Time Piano Playing New Rag contest, this piece was actually trumped by another one of my compositions that year (posted above), so it didn’t make another appearance for a while. Resurrecting it for my album Stridz I was able to discover some new elements of this fun stride composition which never quite left my head. While it is still mine in construction, the beginning two sections are clearly inhabited by Fats Waller and his contemporaries, but the trio is a nod in some regards to contemporary composer, the late Robin Frost, and is just plain fun. The "strategery" is in the waiting, and each time after the "middle eight" the wait gets increasingly longer. As for the unusual title, it famously comes from a memorable Saturday Night Live sketch and a word concocted by Will Ferrell as presidential candidate George W. Bush when at a debate he and Al Gore are both asked present an argument for their candidacy with one word. Gore (Darrell Hammond) answers "Lock box," followed by a resolutely confused Bush uttering "Strategery." Bush later used the term in interviews as a nod to Ferrell's portrayal. As for my take, viewed on the cover, I figured it to be a board game made from remnants of pretty much all the classic board games. Go figure.

Arlo "Chip" Lusby has been an ardent supporter of ragtime and related arts for most of his life. Every year for some decades, when the famous Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival is held in his town of the same name, it is sometimes literally in his back yard, or at the very least, his front parlor. Chip's home and property are affectionally known as Skunk Hollow, for which this and several other piano rags were commissioned and named to honor his dedication to us, the contemporary composers and musicians keeping ragtime alive into the 21st century. I was quite honored to be amongst that batch. The cover art was designed to reflect the title, showing off his beautiful Victorian mansion and the hollow (in this case a bit enhanced) in which it resides. Of course, a skunk was necessary, but the sweetest possible one I could render to grace the woods in front of the property. I want to believe it is really there; and so, therefore it must be. As for the music, it is intentionally contemplative (some may argue it is brooding), a bit richer than some of my previous works, and thematically tied together by at least three different motifs, especially the resolution measures at the end of each section. The parallel patterns in the B section and again in the trio help create a sense of traveling through the woods on a search for some new wonder of nature or a scene of awesome beauty, which I put in as the destination for the trio, inspired perhaps a bit by the textures of famed ragtime composer Joseph F. Lamb. I was further trying to reflect some of the musical patina of a mixture of intermezzos, fantasias, and other parlor music of the early 20th century that might resonate from the pianos in Chip's gorgeous parlor. And then go out for a refreshing ice cream cone. So, even though the original wealth of gold and riches first discovered at Sutter Creek is long gone, there is a different variety of riches available there when mining for our American musical heritage. And guess where you can find it!

Nazareth was clearly a fan of romantic classical composer Frederic Chopin, and at times his affinity for that composer came through in his own works. In this case, Vitorioso (Victorious) can be equated to somewhat of a Latin nocturne [night music], following Chopin's format used in some of his own famous nocturnes, while also retaining the structure and format familiar to ragtime. The score leaves the translation largely up to the performer, but many facets of Nazareth's intent are rather apparent through implication or design. A delicate and plaintive opening section is followed by one of almost pure passion that is virtuosic in scope with octave passages in both hands. After a serene return to the original theme, the trio comes in as a choro starting with a pedal tone on the fifth before it explodes with joy, ending very much in the style of a James Scott rag of the time. In fact, if a ragtime right hand were used in this section, it would clearly constitute piano ragtime. It is followed by a peaceful return to the opening theme and that feeling of a quiet victory.

One of the most familiar of the Nazareth compositions, this piece is unusual in that in its original published form it is performed almost entirely on the top half of the piano keys. The intent was to replicate the sound of the cavaquinho, which is essentially a small four-string guitar, parent to the modern ukulele. Technically a choro (and even characterized by some as a "polka"), Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho moves along at a pretty fast clip, much in the style of a Brazilian combo with cavaquinho, flute and percussion. The whimsical title can be translated as "aha, I got you with my guitar." I also added another take of this multi-tracked as a four-handed version, more in a samba style, echoing how it has been transcribed for modern orchestras, and based loosely on organist Ethel Smith's interpretation in the Blame It on the Samba segment of the 1948 Walt Disney package film, Make Mine Music.

One of the most recognizable tangos of all time, particularly as played on the accordion, this piece did not start out as one. Composer Rodriguez, an 18 year architecture student and son of a nightclub owner, composed the first two sections of the work as a carnivale march (the title is translated as "The Little Parade"). A friend took the work to a café orchestra leader, Roberto Firpo, who quickly repurposed the melodic march as a tango. Since he felt it needed an additional section, Firpo added snippets from two of his own tangos that had not been successful, and a touch of Miserere by Giuseppe Verdi, to cobble together the end result. The response was immediately positive, and Firpo recorded the tango in late 1916 for the Odeon label in Buenos Aries. Still, it was not an international hit until lyrics were added, making it more commercially viable. It should be noted that the country of Uruguay, where this originated, is quite protective of the particular work, which is unique in a sea of Brazilian and Argentinean tangos.

This is one of the later works by Nazareth, and also calls on romantic classical composer Frederic Chopin for inspiration and format, as well as the familiar ragtime-based form. The title translates into plaintive mourning or lamenting, which is clearly echoed in the beautiful opening minor theme. A slow and haunting habanera tango, the second section contains chord progressions and patterns found in Chopin’s nocturnes, but with a persistent underlying beat. This is followed by a more joyful and passionate trio, in which highly contrasting dynamics from very loud to very soft are clearly indicated in the score, and honored for the most part in this performance. While dedicated to "my good and distinct friend Francisco Dubois Bastos," it is unclear if this was composed in response to a specific loss or sad event in the lives of either of them. Care has been taken to keep this piece moving while still moving the listener.

Although it was composed and released the same year as Plangente during a period that he was expected to create new works for radio broadcast and publication, Escorregando contrasts sharply with its gentler brethern. This chipper little dance tune,classified as a "Tango Brasileiro," uses the device of persistent rhythmically repeated notes, letting the left hand guide the rhythmic action in the first section. It is followed by a delicate, almost minimalist B-strain with a constant right hand that suggests syncopation through note changes. With the title translated as either "slipping" or "sliding," the pitter patter of the first two delicate sections of this combination habanera/choro gives way into a delightful and joyful full-bodied celebration of all things Brazil in the driving trio. I have worked in some variations on the repeat that respect the original while adding variety.