a record that feels alive from start to finish.
Turtle Bay Records
Ricky Alexander – clarinet; Conal Fowkes – piano; Jerron Paxton – banjo; Rob Adkins – bass; Kevin Dorn – drums
Ragtime is the spine of Ricky Alexander’s Ragology, but the music never sits still—stomping, gliding, flirting with early jazz, even slipping into Brazilian choro when it feels right. Alexander’s clarinet rides out front, darting and weaving through the tunes. It doesn’t matter that much of it comes from the 1920s and ’30s; this music swings like crazy. You can hear how much fun the band is having, and that joy carries straight through the record. Longtime fans will feel right at home, and newcomers couldn’t ask for a better introduction.
Alexander put together a band that knows this music from the inside out. Pianist Conal Fowkes and banjoist Jerron Paxton are both pillars of today’s traditional jazz scene, players who don’t just reference the style but live in it. Backed by bassist Rob Adkins and drummer Kevin Dorn, the four have played together regularly in New York over the past several years, and that familiarity shows: the group sounds relaxed, confident, and fully at home.
A crisp, bouncing piano line opens Sidney Bechet’s “Wildcat Blues,” and Alexander’s clarinet enters like a spark, weaving through the tune and instantly filling the space. In the upper register, he sounds confident and loose, never shrill. Fowkes ’piano snaps and dances, buoyant and just a little mischievous, while Adkins ’bass and Dorn’s drums lock into a steady, swinging pulse that lets the melody soar.
“Dizzy Fingers” plays like one of those old black-and-white cartoons where a train is barreling down the tracks and everything moves in tight, repeating loops. The rhythm churns forward in a constant cycle, with piano and clarinet climbing and tumbling in sync, mirroring the motion underneath. Fowkes cuts loose with a rowdy, barrelhouse piano solo, and Alexander follows with an expressive clarinet run packed with notes, shooting into the upper register and sounding like he’s having the time of his life.
Jerron Paxton steps out front with banjo that’s as percussive as it is melodic, driving the tune with bright, tinny-in-the-best-way lines that cut cleanly through the band. When piano and clarinet join in, they grab the melody together and give it a loose, Charleston-era bounce that’s hard to resist. On Tom Turpin’s “The Buffalo Rag,” Paxton leans into the snap of the strings and the quick, dancing attack of his picking, turning the banjo into both rhythm and lead voice.
The rhythm on “Nola” rocks back and forth, easing off, then catching its step again. Paxton’s banjo bubbles underneath Alexander’s clarinet before stepping forward for a clean, melodic solo, with the band answering in short phrases. The effect feels less like a straight line and more like someone skipping down a sunny street with nowhere to be.
Things soften on “You and a Canoe,” one of the album’s most charming moments. The tempo slows and the music drifts along in no hurry, with bowed bass setting a calm, slightly somber tone beneath tinkling banjo notes. Alexander’s clarinet sits low in the register, taking on an accordion-like sound. It’s old-fashioned and romantic, with the band easing back and finding its way to a relaxed, dreamy close.
Paxton’s singing brings a wide, easy grin to the album’s final moments, blending the mournful cry of the blues with a touch of vaudeville charm. Fowkes stays close at the piano, shaping the harmony, while Alexander answers the vocal with short, teasing clarinet fills—little curls and echoes that lean into the melody. The Jelly Roll Morton tune “Sweetheart O ’Mine” closes the record on a warm, affectionate note.
Ragology works because it plays this music straight, with energy and joy, without trying to reframe it or smooth it into something else. The swing that’s already baked into the earliest corners of jazz comes through loud and clear. Alexander leads with warmth and personality, but the record holds together because of the steady, deeply felt work of bassist Rob Adkins and drummer Kevin Dorn, who give every tune shape, lift, and forward motion. The result is a record that feels alive from start to finish.
