The Artiste. Carol started playing the piano when she was five and, some three years later, became fascinated by electronic organs and especially by the magic of drawbar Hammonds. Soon afterwards. she encountered the white and gold Mighty WurliTzers of yesteryear and was immediately attracted by their distinctive sounds. Yet she continued with her piano studies because this instrument is at the very heart of musicianship although there was always a Hammond or Lowrey organ at home. Cararol's interests then extended to embrace classical organ music. Carol enjoyed a full classical training, studying for five years at the Royal Academy of Music to obtain the prestigious Recital Diploma plus an LRAM on organ and an LRAM on piano. An FRCO, FTCL and ARCM, Carol has won prizes and awards from the Royal Academy and from the Royal College of Organists and has been elected an Associate off the Royal Academy of Music. Carol has given recitals at Westminster Abbey and at many of the major Cathedrals in this country and she has undertaken four concert tours in Scandinavia. But Carol's rigorous training coupled with her profound love of light music has enabled her to exploit the sheer magnificence of theatre organs and she has given concerts at many famous centres including the Tower Ballroom Blackpool in addition to concerts abroad. The Recording. Carol is an enthusiastic exponent of today's high-tech products and her concerts on classical "pipeless" organs and on electronic entertainment organs have taken her to many parts of the country. This freedom of movement delights Carol because it enables her to play a wide variety of organ music at numerous venues and, by highlighting the fact that the organ is so versatile, Carol is helping to restore the "King of Instruments" status of the organ. It is this high-tech facet of Carol's multitalented approach that is featured in this recording. The philosophy underlying Just Rags is summed up in a brief message from Carol in which she says: "the aim of the recording is to give pleasure and thereby to act as a musical tonic since the rags are played in a notably happy way. Orchestrating the conversation between organ and piano was great fun and it was a wonderful experience working with, in effect, the the King and Queen of Instruments." Ragtime Remembered. It is apparent from astudy of the literature that views differ regarding the early history of rags and it follows that an authoritative evaluation is outside the scope of the inlay notes to a recording. Nor is it possible in an inlay to pay tribute to the many individuals whose scholarship has made so much information available regarding this fascinating part of our musical heritage and, instead, grateful thanks are expressed at this point to all the contributors and especially to Peter Gammond for his Scott Joplin and the Ragtime Era published in 1975 by Sphere Books Ltd. Ragtime is sometimes defined as an American form of popular dance with strongly syncopated music that came into fashion around 1910 as the forerunner of jazz and swing. Other accounts regard it as an offshoot of jazz that first flourished in the late 19th century. Certainly, there is agreement that rags have a syncopated melody set against a march-like bass, with a lively and incessant rhythm.