DAVID THOMAS ROBERTS: American Landscapes

David Thomas Roberts

American Landscapes

© 1998 David Thomas Roberts (600441691326)

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Composer/pianist David Thomas Roberts offers 15 of his own works and one by John Hancock which draw inspiration from the land's "visionary potential". Though the material here is mostly New Ragtime, the influences comprising Roberts' unique sound range fr

notes

Composer/pianist David Thomas Roberts offers 15 of his own works and one by John Hancock which draw inspiration from the land's "visionary potential". Though the material here is mostly New Ragtime, the influences comprising Roberts' unique sound range from Folk Ragtime, bluegrass, early jazz, late romanticism, Latin Music, country music, to early rock and roll.

"This is a great album. David Thomas Roberts' playing gets deeper, more profound and more sentimental as time progresses."
-- George Winston.

About The Company:

The recordings of Viridiana Productions, L.L.C. represent a grass roots movement designed to promote the new music Terra Verde, as well as various traditions from which it draws. Terra Verde, a contemporary and distinctly American musical art form, fuses elements of European romanticism with New World ethnic styles, such as ragtime, jazz, Latin-American and country.The result is a rich and vital language for our time, and a new stage in the evolution of piano-based composition. Viridiana exists to champion the composers and performers of Terra Verde, and to pay tribute to the innovative and sometimes unheralded forerunners to this exciting new realm of American music.

About The Artist:

Composer-pianist, writer and visual artist, David Thomas Roberts has been hailed by many as New Ragtime's leading figure. Born in Moss Point, Mississippi in 1955, he was composing, painting and writing stories by age eight. He wrote his first rag in 1971, at which time he was especially interested in the music of Erik Satie, Scott Joplin, Charles Ives and Alexander Scriabin, whose work he encountered and studied independently of any teacher. Since then he has composed over eighty-five ragtime related piano pieces while continuing to work in a variety of other musical languages.

In his early twenties he wrote some of the piano pieces for which he is best-known. His poetry was first published at that time. His first recording, Music For a Pretty Baby, appeared in 1978. By 1984, two albums devoted entirely to his own compositions were internationally available. Pieces such as The Early Life of Larry Hoffer, Roberto Clemente, Pinelands Memoir, Through the Bottomlands, and the eclectic suite, New Orleans Streets led many writers to hail Roberts as the leading contemporary ragtime-based composer. The New Orleans historian Al Rose called him "the most important composer of this half of the century in America".

David Thomas Roberts is the author of entries in The New Grove Dictionary of American Music and is listed in The International Who's Who in Music. He founded and edited The Streetfighting Aesthete, a journal of Surrealist expression and experimental writing. His poetry appears in many U.S. small press periodicals, and his paintings were recently featured in the British magazine of Visionary Art, Raw Vision. He lives in south Mississippi and southern Missouri.


reviews

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  • American Landscapes
    author: William H. Young

    Not much heard in mainstream media, the "new" ragtime artists have a vibrant musical subculture. Pianist David Thomas Roberts, in his "American Landscapes," provides a splendid introduction to this genre. Often reflective or elegaic, his numbers echo the traditions of Joplin, et al, but also forge new paths in their composition. Highly recommended to anyone wanting to sample contemporary ragtime.

  • author: Sara Izod

    On the Theme of American Composers there are few that can touch David Thomas Roberts. 'American Landscapes' is a Masterpiece . . . of feeling, sensitivity, 'Sense of Life'. Every composition on this disc has a special flavor and Meaning of the Heart. ~ Sara Izod

  • Excellent disc
    author: Paul Kesler

    On the basis of this CD, I'd have to call Roberts the best composer of the "new ragtime" I've heard. My personal favorite on this disc is "Kreole," primarily because I prefer rags that are uptempo and that share many of the qualities of the classic rags by Joplin, James Scott, etc. These tracks are all superbly composed and beautifully performed, however, and the sound quality is absolutely pristine. Most of them are also musically complex; even though I am not a trained musician, it's clear that Roberts packed these compositions with a wealth of detail and sophistication that will reward careful listeners. Potential buyers should be aware, however, that not every piece on this disc qualifies as ragtime --- tracks like "Fountainebleau Drive" and "Napoleon Avenue," though sporting occasional syncopation, have a subdued delicacy and slow pacing that's more reminiscent of Chopin than Joplin. That said, there's plenty to savor on this disc, and at least one track, "Anna," is a classic of meditative ragtime that ranks with the best in its genre. A remarkable disc in every way.

  • This is a great CD.
    author: Rick

    These contemporary rags are delightful. Each piece is easy to listen to and a sure fire way to lighten you mood.

  • David Roberts plays in a pristine, elegant , and perfectly lovely manner.
    author: Gordon Flygare

    For many years I have been a great fan of Scott Joplin who captured the essence of the rag so well that few others ever tried to emulate him. Joshua Rifkin has been my favorite pianist with The Red Backed Book. Seldom have I heard anyone else play with the coolness and accuracy needed to capture that wistful turn of the century mood of Joplin's rags. David Thomas Roberts is able to do it with the clarity and evenness of tempo to show off the beauty of the music and the special quality of solo piano. Roberto Clemente is done with such eligance that his performance of it joins the pantheon of perfect rags along with Joplin's.

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