It is with great sadness that I announce the death of Trebor Jay
Tichenor, ragtime historian, collector, author and performer.
Building on the work of the late Hubert Pruitt, Tichenor amassed what
many considered the largest ragtime roll collection in the world.
In all the world of ragtime, there was no one even remotely like Trebor
Tichenor. Practically anyone, _everyone_, playing ragtime today has
felt his influence: the groundbreaking early musicological research,
the books co-authored with Dave Jasen, the folios, the recordings...
Oh God, the recordings! How many ensembles out there, or that have
been out there, modeled themselves after the St. Louis Ragtimers!
Folios, liner notes, radio appearances -- we've all been touched in
some capacity.
Those of us who got to know Trebor understand there really was no one
like him. In a field peopled by extroverts happily one-upping another,
Trebor was just the opposite: quiet, unassuming, shy, kindly, generous.
In a room full of men and women shouting to be heard, Trebor made you
come close to listen.
He amassed a collection of staggering, overwhelming proportions, and
yet was delighted to share his passion with anyone who understood it as
he did. The world is a better place, I think, for what Trebor Tichenor
brought to it; I, for one, am a better man for having known him. Rest
in peace, Treb -- you've earned it.
Obituary from the St Louis Post-Dispatch at
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/obituaries/trebor-tichenor-the-man-with-the-backwards-name/article_09774739-e4f4-57ab-a653-24f47e3f9e72.html
Bryan S. Cather
Saint Louis, Missouri
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