Blues & Ragtime

Janita Baker | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 1, 1998)
• Original Release Date: August 1, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• ASIN: B00006IJP9
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #814,608 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Rocks and Gravel

2. The Ragtime Dance

3. St. Louis Blues

4. Bobcat Ramble

5. Solace

6. Careless Love

7. Sweet Home Chicago

8. Maple Leaf Rag

9. Fishin' Blues

10. Frankie and Johnnie

11. Baker's Dozen

12. Bink's Waltz

13. Memphis Blues

14. Weeping Willow

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Janita has appeared at festivals and workshops across the U.S. as a featured mountain dulcimer performer and teacher; including Augusta Heritage Center’s Spring Dulcimer Week, Appalachian State University’s Dulcimer Week, Kentucky Music Week, Great Plains Folk Music Festival, the Swannanoa Gathering in Asheville, NC. and the John C. Campbell Folk School. She is the author of several dulcimer books, including "Blues & Ragtime for Fretted Dulcimer" and her latest, "Fingerpicking Dulcimer", both published by Mel Bay Publications. In addition to "Blues and Ragtime", she has released two solo dulcimer recordings, "Fingerpicking Dulcimer"and "Solace". In addition, she accompanies Robert on their two latest albums, "Walkin' Around Lucky" and "The Hot Rod Sleigh".

Robert and Janita Baker have been performing together for over 30 years, and are known for their excellence in performance and musicianship. Their collective taste in music runs from blues to traditional to country and original compositions and they perform on a variety of instruments including guitar, banjo, mountain dulcimer and autoharp.

Robert is an accomplished guitarist of both the fingerpicking and flatpicking style, and is known as an excellent vocalist as well. Janita has appeared at festivals and workshops across the U.S. as a featured mountain dulcimer performer and teacher, including Augusta Heritage Center’s Spring Dulcimer Week, Appalachian State University’s Dulcimer Week, Kentucky Music Week, Great Plains Folk Music Festival, the Swannanoa Gathering in Asheville, NC. and the John C. Campbell Folk School. She is the author of several dulcimer books, the latest one being Blues & Ragtime for Fretted Dulcimer, published by Mel Bay Publications. She has released two solo dulcimer recordings, "Fingerpicking Dulcimer" and "Solace"; her latest recording, "Blues and Ragtime" includes Robert on vocal and guitar accompaniment and has been recognized as a landmark work in the evolution of contemporary mountain dulcimer performance.

The Bakers have been featured performers at acoustic music venues throughout California including the Summer Solstice Folk Music festival and have opened for such notable musicians as Doc Watson and the New Grass Revival. The couple live on the central coast of California, where they manufacture Blue Lion guitars and dulcimers. Their instruments are regarded as some of the finest hand-made acoustic instruments available today, and are played by such well-known musicians as Leo Kottke, Tracy Chapman, Bruce Hornsby, Steve Martin, Sally Rogers and Jean Ritchie.

Product Description

The fifteen songs in this collection present the mountain dulcimer in a completely new and refreshing light; guitar-like in its style yet with that distinctive sound that sets the dulcimer apart from other acoustic stringed instruments. The album has an even balance of country and delta blues, along with Scott Joplin’s classic piano rags. Presented in a fingerpicking style, the solo instrumentals are performed with style and dexterity while the vocal and guitar accompaniment complement, but never overshadow, the dulcimer. This recording has been recognized as a landmark work in the evolution of contemporary mountain dulcimer performance. It is an easy-listening recording for fans of acoustic ragtime and blues music.