"Charleston Rag" genre: Traditional Jazz
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	Eubie Blake's thrilling "Charleston Rag" was composed in 1899 by a precocious 16-year-old Blake. Originally titled "South of Africa" and recorded on piano roll by Eubie himself, it became his signature piece in the later years of his life, which spanned 100 years from 1883-1983.
	Credits: Martin Spitznagel, piano
	Story Behind the Song I absolutely LOVE this piece of music. By far my favorite of the Blake rags, "Charleston Rag" is a thunderous and brilliant piece of music, memorable and exciting in every sense. It's nearly impossible to get it right because the rhythms are exceptionally complex. Just keeping it even in the walking bassline of the first strain takes a lot of practice, let alone the difficult single-note-runs later in the piece. I love opening concerts with it because the piece screams, "Hey you! This ain't like any rag YOU'VE heard." This is a live recording done on June 13th, 2002 at Trombino Piano Gallerie in downtown Pittsburgh in front of an enthusiastic audience. The piano was a Steinway Concert Grand.

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