THE KING OF RAGTIME

Mirron Willis gives a virtuoso performance in Larry Karp's second immersion in the syncopated rhythms of ragtime. In THE RAGTIME KID, listeners were present at ragtime's beginnings. Here, the musical genre is dying, as is its most famous practitioner, Scott Joplin. In desperation, Joplin takes his latest work to Irving Berlin, although he believes Berlin plagiarized his earlier work. Because of the advanced state of his illness, Joplin's grip on reality is shaky, and when he's found standing over a body holding a straight razor, no one is sure of what happened. Willis never strikes a false note in Karp's well-researched period mystery. He fashions living human beings of all colors, textures, and dispositions with only his smooth, sultry voice. A rich listen. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2009]