Peabody Ragtime Ensemble, an acoustic “little big band,” preserves the roots of American Jazz through performance of vintage repertoire in concert, dance and stage settings.
The band has performed with and opened for stars such as Roberta Flack, Louie Bellson, the Smothers Brothers, Eubie Blake, Alberta Hunter, Aaron Copland and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
In spite of the "Ragtime" moniker, Peabody Ragtime Ensemble has evolved from its 1974 student roots into a professional jazz ensemble that performs an eclectic line-up of traditional jazz—ragtime, Dixieland, big band, swing, novelties and vocals. The 7-piece Ensemble presents a quirky concert program of musical selections interspersed with “edu-taining” commentary that places the music in its historical context, reflecting the virtuosity, scholarship (and humor!) of its various members.
For more than 30 years, Peabody Ragtime Ensemble has been filling concert halls and bringing audiences to their feet with their infectious brand of “delightfully diverse repertoire” that has “spirits…singing, clapping, shagging down the aisle."
How We Came to Celebrate Our 25th Anniversary In Our 27th Year
(adapted from the liner notes of Live at the Homecoming, a “Reunion concert” recorded at Peabody Institute in 1999)
The Peabody Ragtime Ensemble formed in March of 1974 when the members were all students at the Peabody Conservatory of Music . . .
