Hi Gang:  I have been enjoying the thread about J. L. Cook, who I think
is one of the greatest roll arrangers of this century.  Whether he
could play or not, I don't have a clue, but I can tell you that you
don't have to play to arrange rolls.

I originally thought that I could just sit down and play, and Presto!,
I could have a new roll cut.  Boy, was I wrong!  In Cook's day his
arranging was even more amazing because his machine was very slow and
painstaking.  Cook must have had a very accurate sense of timing and
note duration because all his works were done at the keyboard.  His
arrangements could be described as "smooth as silk".  It seems that the
phrase "played by" and "arranged by" were interchanged often; even the
hand played rolls had to be edited a lot.

The first time a pianists look at a MIDI file that he recorded, it is
a rude shock.  They see uneven chords, wrong notes if they brush a key,
and they feel that they are sloppy in their playing.  I certainly did!

Cook's method was very unique and clever and he did not have the
advantage of a computer like we enjoy today.  Some people today will
arrange a roll note by note, some people still use the keyboard and
others use a combination of both, or embellish sheet music via
MidiScan.

I have noticed that many roll arrangers do not appear in public to
play, mainly for the fact that it is impossible to play their own
arrangements.  They just don't have that many fingers.  I, for example,
cannot do a reverse progression by hand, nor can I play trills fast
enough or accurately.

That is the beauty of roll arranging.  If you miss a note, or want to
add a rip or gliss or a 10th chord in the bass, you can always go back
and redo it.  My hand playing will sound strikingly different than my
rolls do.

Best regards

Andy Taylor
Tempola music rolls