Ragtime Composer – Muriel Pollock, of Kingsbridge

[ndembowski]

Muriel Pollock in 1932

I just learned about Muriel Pollock, who was born in Kingsbridge in 1895 to Russian immigrants and attended the New York Institute of Musical Art, which later became Julliard.  She played organ accompaniment to silent films in movie houses before composing and playing ragtime music for piano rolls (for use in player pianos).  She recorded a piano roll with George Gershwin and made many recordings on the Edison label.  I’ve been enjoying listening to her piano rolls on YouTube.  Check out this player piano rendition of Pollock’s “Out of Breath.”

From The Pittsburg Press:

[Thomas Casey]

Since I am now a board member of the St. Augustine Jazz Society & Kingsbridge Historical Society this is a great find.  I recently enjoyed a film documentary about Bill Evans, a composer and jazz pianist  (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980).  He recorded many records with Miles Davis and Tony Bennett .  It was a 90 min film and well documented.  Maybe the best part was when I viewed a high rise along Riverdale Ave where he lived for a few years with Ellaine Schultz.  This relationship ended tragically for her, after his breakup and he moved to NJ

[Author]

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