One of the most memorable novelty pieces around, Kitten was an instant hit, partially because it was released almost concurrently with a phonograph record of the tune played by the composer. He also wrote a great deal of serious work throughout his life, but is best remembered for Kitten On The Keys, My Pet, Nickel in the Slot, and Dizzy Fingers. However, the true master of the popular novelty was Confrey. Novelty ragtime is typically traced back to Felix Arndt's Nola (1915). Based on just these two pieces, the Confrey household must have had some rather rambunctious animals running about! This final section was originally preceded by a rather difficult strain that appears only in piano roll form, and was dropped from both the music and the initial phonograph recording. The C section is simple, followed by a grandiose ending that brings all of the styles in the piece together one last time. There are several innovative plays here on common syncopated patterns, creating a sound that was entirely Confrey's. In the B section, one can hear the pattern that would also represent the foundation for Kitten on the Keys and other pieces. The opening figure, used several times throughout the first half, demonstrates his control over dissonance, which is organized into a very listenable format. Composed in a typically horrid key (B minor for starters), it is a good example of the art of pitch bending on a piano through the use of alternating chords. This was Confrey's first novelty piano publication, preceding his benchmark Kitten on the Keys by perhaps a couple weeks, and released simultaneously as the B side to a KOTK recording. Based on his few published compositions, he certainly had the potential to equal the talents of Billy Mayerl or Zez Confrey, both successful novelty and jazz composers. Unfortunately for all, Arndt's life was cut short during the world-wide flu epidemic of 1918. There was even a modified fox trot edition in the early 1920s. This piano solo caught on very quickly, and lyrics were later added to a simplified version of it.
Russian rag player piano roll professional#
Nola was composed for his fiancé of the time, Nola Locke, who was both a vocal teacher and professional concert singer. He became a staff musician for the Duo-Art reproducing piano company, cutting many spectacular rolls totaling 3000 in all during his short tenure there. Arndt started out as a self-taught pianist and later studied with some of the best teachers in New York. While actually not a true novelty rag, it was certainly a pioneering effort in that direction and one of the most well known pieces of a style that would ultimately become a display of pianistic prowess. What the Mississippi Rag is to piano ragtime, Nola is to the genre of Novelty piano solos.
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