Recently I've started exploring the piano works of Rube Bloom (1902-1976), a pianist, composer and band leader who played and recorded with many of the jazz greats in the 1920s and 1930s, including Bix Beiderbecke, the Dorsey brothers, and Benny Goodman. Here is his composition Southern Charms, published in 1931, performed with the U4 a la Monk preset.
Thanks again! Ragtime scholar and performer Dave Jasen published a folio, 100 Authentic Rags, in 1979, which contains many late rags in addition to the usual suspects. It was later republished in two volumes of 50 Authentic Rags each, with some changes among the classic rags, but none that involve Zurke or Bloom. Jasen’s folio has four Zurke pieces and three by Bloom, one of which is Southern Charms. This is the only folio I’ve found that has any selection of late ragtime beyond Confrey, and I was introduced to both composers through this folio. In addition, I like the web site Piano Rare Scores, which has scores by both Bloom and Zurke as well as dozens more just in jazz/ragtime, not to mention classical works. Russian scores are especially well represented there. And finally, eBay has lots of this kind of sheet music.
very fun piece, again by someone i've never heard of. how on earth do you come across guys like this??? i'm glad their music is getting heard
Here is another one by Rube Bloom, Spring Fever, published in 1926. The illustrations are photographs of covered bridges in central Ohio from the early 1960s.
Here is another one by Rube Bloom, Spring Fever, published in 1926. The illustrations are photographs of covered bridges in central Ohio from the early 1960s.
very fun piece and excellent performance!
Unbeknownst to me when I started investigating the music of Rube Bloom, he wrote some well-known pop songs in addition to his piano pieces. He wrote a piece called "Shangraila" in 1936 for a production number in Chicago. Four years later, Bloom played the song for his New York publishers, and they suggested bringing in Johnny Mercer to write new lyrics, which were much more successful for the new song, entitled Fools Rush In. Over the years the song has been recorded by many of the great singers of the day, including Sinatra, Julie London, the Four Freshmen, Etta James, and even Elvis. This arrangement by British music hall performer Billy Mayerl was recorded and published in 1940. Visuals by ffmpeg using the showcpt filter (hat tip to hanysz for demonstrating this technique in his beautiful videos).
Fools Rush In by Rube Bloom, arranged for piano by Billy Mayerl
Unbeknownst to me when I started investigating the music of Rube Bloom, he wrote some well-known pop songs in addition to his piano pieces. He wrote a piece called "Shangraila" in 1936 for a production number in Chicago. Four years later, Bloom played the song for his New York publishers, and they suggested bringing in Johnny Mercer to write new lyrics, which were much more successful for the new song, entitled Fools Rush In. Over the years the song has been recorded by many of the great singers of the day, including Sinatra, Julie London, the Four Freshmen, Etta James, and even Elvis. This arrangement by British music hall performer Billy Mayerl was recorded and published in 1940. Visuals by ffmpeg using the showcpt filter (hat tip to hanysz for demonstrating this technique in his beautiful videos).
Fools Rush In by Rube Bloom, arranged for piano by Billy Mayerl
Bravo! A lot of delicacy and humor in your musical playing.
Continuing my exploration of this composer from the 1920s and 1930s, here is Sapphire: A Musical Gem, published in 1927.
A couple of new videos featuring the music of Rube Bloom. The first is Waterfall Serenade from 1946, featuring visuals from a unusual snowfall that we had this month here in Tucson, Arizona, USA. I'm sure it's nothing for those of you who live in parts of the world where snow is a regular thing, but it was very pretty while it was here (and gone pretty quickly too).
Waterfall Serenade by Rube Bloom
The second new video is Bloom's earliest published composition, from 1923, and his only composition with the word 'Rag' in the title, That Futuristic Rag, with psychedelic visuals by Vythm.
Another late composition by Mr. Bloom, here is Fifth Avenue Bus from 1946.
A couple more videos featuring the music of Rube Bloom. First up, another piece from the 1920s when Bloom was still in the post-ragtime phase, Silhouette (A Musical Outline) from 1927, again featuring some of my father's Ohio covered bridge photographs from the 1960s.
Silhouette (A Musical Outline) by Rube Bloom
The other video is Valse Petite, the second piece from Moods, a suite that Bloom published in 1931, with visuals are by Vythm, a visual synthesizer from MKGames Art & Visuals.
Continuing with Bloom's Moods: Suite for Piano from 1931, here is the third piece of the set, Gypsy.
Here is the first piece in Bloom's Moods: Suite for Piano from 1931, Metropolitan.
Here is the first piece in Bloom's Moods: Suite for Piano from 1931, Metropolitan.
another very cool piece from him! loved it!
The final movement in the Moods Suite is Primitive (Moods V). The fourth movement, Blues, is forthcoming.