THE 'LOST LUCILLE' - The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra performs George Gershwin's "La-La Lucille! Overture." This 1919 score from Gershwin's first Broadway show had been lost until recently, when conductor Rick Benjamin discovered a copy in an Ithaca, New York barn. Here, Benjamin leads the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra in the world premier recording of this fascinating early Gershwin artifact. This performance was recorded and produced by Judith Sherman, 2002 and 2023 Grammy Award winning "Producer of the Year, Classical." (Music © 2021 by Rick Benjamin, all rights reserved; recording  © 2022 by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, Inc., all rights reserved.)

Deuces Wild

La-La-Lucille! Overture

La-La-Lucille! Overture (1919) - George Gershwin (World Premier Recording)

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, conducted by Rick Benjamin, performs 25 pieces of popular music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, using the original historic orchestrations and antique instruments. The album was recorded and produced by Judith Sherman.

Georgia Sunset

Georgia Sunset: A Southern Tone Poem (1906) - Albert W. Brown

The Cascades

The Cascades (descriptive rag, 1904) - Scott Joplin

Whistling Rufus

Whistling Rufus (cakewalk, 1899) - Kerry Mills

Echoes from the Snowball Club

Echoes From The Snowball Club: Original Rag Time Waltz (1898) - Harry P. Guy

Slim Trombone

Slim Trombone (comic one-step, 1918) - Henry Fillmore (feat. Rebecca Ciabattari)

The Siren's Song

The Siren's Song (1917) - Jerome Kern

Step With Pep

Step With Pep (one-step, 1916) - Mel B. Kaufman (feat. Leslie Cullen, piccolo)

Paderewski Rag

Paderewski Rag: A Travesty on Paderewski's Celebrated 'Minuet' (1920) - F. Henri Klickmann

Peaches and Cream

Peaches And Cream: A Delectable Rag (1906) - Percy Wenrich

Deuces WildRialto

Panamericana

Panamericana: Morceau Characteristique (1901) - Victor Herbert

Look for the Silver Lining

Look For The Silver Lining & Whip-Poor-Will (medley fox-trot, 1920) - Jerome Kern

Alabama Jubilee

Alabama Jubilee (one-step, 1915) - George L. Cobb

The Ragtime Bassplayer

The Ragtime Bassplayer (1913) - Adolf Lotter (feat. Corey Schutzer)

Yellow Dog Rag

The Yellow Dog Rag (1914) - W.C. Handy

Lady of the Lake

Lady Of The Lake (waltz-intermezzo, 1912) - George L. Cobb

Ragging the Waves

Ragging The Waves (novelty fox-trot, 1917) - Joe Rosey

Bone-Head Blues

Bone-Head Blues: Jazz Fox-Trot (1917) - George L. Cobb

Beale Street

Beale Street (1917) - W.C. Handy

At the Mississippi Cabaret

At The Mississippi Cabaret (one-step, 1914) - Albert Gumble

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra (PRO), conducted by Rick Benjamin, performs 25 pieces of American popular music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries using the original historic orchestrations and playing antique instruments. Many of these pieces are recorded here for the first time. The album was recorded and produced by Judith Sherman.

Deuces Wild Rag

Deuces Wild Rag (1922) - Hubert T. Bauersachs

Paragon, conducted by Rick Benjamin, performs Harry T. Burleigh's 1916 orchestral setting of the famous Spiritual "Deep River." This performance, part of Mr. Benjamin's three-album "Black Manhattan Trilogy" for New World Records, was recorded at the American Academy of Arts and Letters on May 29, 2003.

"Black Manhattan"  Vol. 1

"Deep River: Negro Spiritual"

PRO/Benjamin - H.T. Burleigh - "Deep River" 1916 orchestral arrangement

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra performs the original orchestration of "Cocoanut Grove Jazz" (1917) by African-American composer J. Tim Brymn. This performance is conducted by Rick Benjamin for New World Records' "Black Manhattan" series.

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra - Cocoanut Grove Jazz

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra performs Cora Salisbury's delightful 1911 "descriptive," "Ghost Dance," conducted by Rick Benjamin.

That Demon Rag

Ghost Dance

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra - Ghost Dance

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra performs Harry L. Alford's "Spooks: A Midnight Chase," a 1914 theater orchestra novelty. Rick Benjamin conducts the PRO in this performance at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City.

Spooks: A Midnight Chase

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra performs "Cake-Walk In the Sky" (1899) composed by ragtime pioneer Ben Harney. The Orchestra is conducted by Rick Benjamin. © 2024 Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. All rights reserved. 

Cake-Walk In The Sky

Cake-Walk In the Sky

Euphonium legend Simone Mantia (1873-1951) performs highlights from his composition, "Original Fantasie," recorded by the Zonophone Company in 1905. 

Simone Mantia - Original Fantasie (Euphonium solo, recorded 1905)

Daniel Marcus sings Irving Berlin's "I Love A Piano" with the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. This hit comic song was part of Berlin's 1915 Broadway musical "STOP! LOOK! LISTEN!" which was produced at New York's Globe Theatre. The piano soloist for this performance is Diane Scott. Rick Benjamin Conducted the Orchestra.

I LOVE A PIANO (comic song, 1915), Irving Berlin.

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra plays Scott Joplin's masterpiece, "Maple Leaf Rag" from the original orchestration found in the archives of the Victor Talking Machine Co. by PRO founder Rick Benjamin, who conducts this performance.

MAPLE LEAF RAG (1899), Scott Joplin.

Soprano Janai Brugger sings "Love Will Find A Way," from its original Noble Sissle/Eubie Blake score, accompanied by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. The song was the hit of the black 1921 Broadway musical SHUFFLE ALONG, and it remains a Show Tune "standard" today. The Orchestra is conducted by Rick Benjamin.

LOVE WILL FIND A WAY (ballad, 1921), Sissle & Blake.

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra conducted by Rick Benjamin performs legendary Harlem pianist/composer/conductor C. Luckeyth Robert's red-hot "Pork and Beans Rag." This was favorite showpiece of the legendary Clef Club Orchestras of 1910s New York.

PORK AND BEANS RAG (1913), "Luckey" Roberts.

NPR's "All Things Considered" explores the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra's screenings of the 1920 Action/Adventure film "The Mark of Zorro." Host Neil Charnoff interviews PRO's conductor and silent film music expert Rick Benjamin.

NPR - "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED" - Paragon Accompanies "Mark of Zorro"

Founded by conductor/historian Rick Benjamin in 1986, the PRO is the world's foremost champion of early American music. The Orchestra tours worldwide, performs for movies, radio, and TV, and has a large and growing discography.

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra

Popular tracks