Sacramento Ragtime Society Newsletter

...Then Detroit pianist Taslimah Bey and her Ragtime Outlaws inspired cake-walkers, conga line dancing, and a tap dancer (who came in off the street) with their exhilarating arrangements of Harry P. Guy's Cleaning Up in Georgia, Walkin' and Talkin' and Heebie Jeebie Blues not to mention some really wonderful Jelly Roll Morton and Scott Joplin pieces. This was the first I'd ever heard an all-Black ensemble play ragtime and it cooked. Taslimah's band includes the brilliant Charlie Gabriel (clarinet and sax)–a 5th generation musician from a New Orleans musical family and just tops; a fabulous Detroit drummer named Djallo (pronounced Jollo) Djakate; and Marian Hayden (yes, female) on string bass. Folks, we have just got to get this band out to California. They're truly special and a delight to know.”

- Nan Bostick, October 2003

The Monett Times

Detroit pianist Taslimah Bey, making her first appearance in Sedalia and one of the rare times an African American female performer has played at the festival, talked about discovering ragtime in her search for African American composers. Bey thanked crowds for championing ragtime. She played a slow gospel-chorded hymn tune with runs and rolled chords that transitioned into Joplin's "The Entertainer" as a New Orleans-style funeral tribute, combining the weight of the blues with a celebration at the end.

- Murray Bishoff, June 2009

“Ragtime is where it all started and no one does it better than pianist Taslimah Bey”

- Classical Jazz, 90.9 WRCJ

“That’s the first time I heard Maple Leaf Rag played with soul!”

- Walter Peyton, Preservation Hall Jazz Band