A Perfect 10 for Sutter Creek's Tenth Anniversary Festival
by Chris Bradshaw

The stars must have been in proper alignment, and the cosmos in perfect order, because Sutter Creek's 10th annual ragtime festival, held August 8-10, 2008, was an out-of-this-world, stellar celebration. But how could it be otherwise when you bring together all that good music, performed by some of the best in ragtime performers, for some of ragtime's most devoted fans! This small but mighty festival, located in the quintessential location of Victorian-quaint Sutter Creek, takes the gold. From Thursday evening's pre-festival event at the Greenhorn Creek Resort in Angels Camp on through to the very last note of the festival finale concert, Sutter Creek rocked the Mother Lode Foothills with ragtime, stride, and boogie.

Beginning with the pre-festival event, held at the Greenhorn Creek Resort in Angels Camp, a tidy bunch of festival players that included Nan Bostick, Jack and Chris Bradshaw, Stevens Price, and others who joined host Gentleman Keith for a "Taylor" made evening. Relaxed dining in the splendor of the lodge, combined with a happy convivial crowd of ragtime players and enthusiasts enjoying the tinkerings of the 7-foot Yamaha grand, set the tenor for the entire weekend -- a playful start to a party perfect festival.

The festival officially began Friday at 4 p.m. on the dot as it does every year, in the Ice Cream Emporium, the festival headquarters, with Keith Taylor presenting the opening set. Premiering his new piece, Ghosts of Sutter Creek, and continuing with some Gil Lieby crowd pleasers, the festival was off to a great start. Included in this set were surprise guests Vickey Cox on trumpet and banjoist Curtis Williams from Oregon who joined up with Keith on a swinging Alexander's Ragtime Band. Throughout his many sets and accompaniment to the the silent movie "7th Heaven" (1927), starring Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor, Keith once again proves that there is no finer combination of talents than an ear player who also reads. Dots or no dots, this man knows how to work that piano.

Ann Gibson made her first appearance at the Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival. Her energetic singing style, coupled with the incomparable piano accompaniment of Frederick Hodges, has been a hit with audiences throughout Northern California -- so much so that the pair recently released a CD, called Hello, Frisco!

And speaking of movie night and performers par excellence, Frederick Hodges thrilled the audience with his apt accompanying of two comedy shorts starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Frederick could be seen and heard often throughout the festival, giving the impression of being almost everywhere at once. A popular soloist, he also was heard in various duo combinations to the enjoyment of festival goers. Whether serving as Ann Gibson's accompanist for her delightful vocal numbers (Everybody Rag with Me being at the top of my list), or in the company of two other festival favorites, Tom Brier and Adam Swanson, in the Ice Cream Emporium, festival concerts and the after hours sessions, Frederick was noticed having a wonderful time.

Tom Brier playing Tom Brier was a huge hit. Elephant Tracks, Skunk Hollow and finally, Blue Sahara, where Ron O'Dell, the Mother-Lode Ragtime Society's trusty new webmaster, added tambourine jangles, made for a lively set. "Cleopha-ing" in their own fast-and-faster version of that Scott Joplin piece, Tom and Frederick showed the piano who is boss. Tom also paired up with Virginia Tichenor for some tasty piano offerings.

Virginia as soloist on both classic and country rags was a hit. And as a family affair, Virginia with husband Marty Eggers on tuba played her father's famous Chestnut Valley Rag on the festival finale. Joining Virginia on drums and Marty on tuba during the festival was Frederick Hodges on piano, creating the Crown Syncopators, a very classy group.

Youth performer Adam Swanson (age 16) kept up with players more than twice his age. Beginning his debut performance at Sutter Creek, Adam filled Scott Joplin's Swipesy with all the wonderful youthful flourishes that piece could possibly handle. His delightfully deviant version of Maple Leaf Rag, (from Frederick Hodges' artful pen) joyfully traveled through as many keys as possible, using just about every note on the piano. What a trip! No passport needed! It's not hard to see how Adam captured first place in the 2008 World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest in Peoria, Illinois.

Will Perkins, 15, from Riverbank, Calif., is just one of the young ragtime performers you can expect to be hearing a lot from in the years to come.

Speaking of youth performers, Sutter Creek's first-ever all-youth concert was held, under the direction of Chris Bradshaw, at this year's festival featuring eleven players ranging in age from 11-17. Playing to a packed venue with standing room only, these junior performers gave us a glimpse of ragtime's future, and it looks bright.

"Bright" brings to mind Patrick Aranda and his shiny trombone playing some of those menacing Henry Fillmore trombone rags with Tom Brier grabbing the right notes out of thin air. As if trombone-ing isn't enough, Patrick plays a mean piano and even meaner when he teams up with cohort Carl Sonny Leyland, who also worked his boogie magic on the crowd. Whether performing alone (Shout for Joy, an Albert Ammons tune, was out of this world) or with Tom (Blame it on the Blues was sensational), or kicking it into high gear with Patrick on such numbers as Sweet Georgia Brown, or an "on steroids" version of King Chanticleer, Sonny was terrific. Sonny showed his softer side with his own composition, Stalking the Lion. The Carl Sonny Leyland Trio, a tight group with very high professional standards, includes Sonny with Marty Eggers, bass, and Hal Smith, drums. Playing a mix of some sweet and hot tunes, this group is always a festival favorite.

Nan Bostick reigned splendidly throughout the weekend. One particularly beautiful piece she played was the seldom-heard Such is Life by Charles L. Cooke. Nan was also seen with the Bradshaws on several sets for some rousing 6-hand playing. Speaking of the Bradshaws, by joining up with the Drivons, Steve on percussion and Robyn on tuba, they became the newest group on the block, The Ragnolia Ragtette, playing their first performance to a packed crowd in the Ice Cream Emporium. Jack could also be found on his solo sets, loving the pianos in both The Foxes and The Hanford House.

Stevens Price, when not dishing up ice cream or running one of the festival concerts, could be found pounding pianos with the best of 'em throughout the weekend. His number on the finale concert was with Keith Taylor, whose "Look, Mom, no hands" approach to piano playing took the audience by surprise on a wild fun ride.

Monty Suffern, originally from Australia but living in Texas, and Larisa Migachyov, originally from Russia but recently moved to California from the East Coast, expected their first trip to Sutter Creek would be only as listeners, but when Brad Kay was unable to make it, Monty and Larisa, familiar faces at festivals in the Midwest, were drafted into official performer status. They were delighted to so do, and delightful to hear.

Big thanks go to Larisa Migachyov and Monty Suffern, who shared two sets at the Ragtime Garden, and Stan Long who with his grandson Kaden Long filled in on two sets in the Ice Cream Emporium, all on very short notice.

Several groups not yet mentioned rounded out the fun at the festival. The HeeBee JeeBees' (Bub & Petra Sullivan and Steve & Robyn Drivon) Saturday night set brought in friends. Petra's instructions to the invitees were to "step out of your comfort zone and try something new." We saw Jan Price joining Petra on violin. There was a first (and only) vocal duo by two who have never sung together before. How lucky for the guilty parties that this number was not recorded and therefore won't come back to haunt them! A great time was had by all at this very inclusive set of shenanigans.

Seen and heard about town on Saturday were also the Town Square Harmonizers, lending sonorous harmonies and magic to a sunny afternoon.

Sunday, the Raspberry Jam Band whisked into town to perform for a standing-room-only crowd in the Ragtime Garden. The group consists of Tom Brier, pianist extraordinaire; Mark Meeker, tuba; George Preston, euphonium and vocals; Mary Preston, violin; Allan Rogers, gutbucket; Kitty Wilson, washboard; and Julia Riley, their fearless leader on flute and piccolo. This group plays with spark.

A festival of this magnitude does not happen without a lot of effort on the part of many individuals. Special thanks goes to festival directors and committee chairpersons, Ilah and Frank Blauvelt, Helen Lucas, Marilyn and Dan Lucas, Stevens and Jan Price, and Ron O'Dell, the webmaster, plus all the many volunteers who worked behind the scenes to make a most memorable weekend.

Mark your calendars for next year's Sutter Creek Festival. You are not going to want to miss it. The dates are August 14-16, 2009, with the 13th for the pre-festival gathering at the Greenhorn Creek Resort in Angels Camp. Lots of your favorite players will be back, and some new ones will be added to the mix as well. Come for the fun and stay for the music. You can't miss with a deal like that!