2024 Eagles & Ivories Ragtime Festival

Ivory&Gold® delights in sharing music from the era Johnny Mercer called “The Golden Age of Melody” with selections from the Great American Songbook along with a dash of rollicking ragtime, joyous jazz and brassy blues to round out the program! This duo has brought their virtuosity and vibrant wit to hundreds of notable venues, earning worldwide acclaim and requests to return. Jeff Barnhart on the piano and vocals joins his wife Anne Barnhart on flute and vocals, making musical magic and keeping it fresh every time they perform.www.ivoryandgold.net www.jeffbarnhart.com www.parkerartists.com/Ivory&Gold.html

Adam Swanson is one of the world’s foremost performers of vintage American popular music, including ragtime, early jazz, the Great American Songbook, and more. He holds a bachelor’s in classical piano and a master’s in musicology from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. Adam has been a featured performer and lecturer at ragtime and jazz festivals across the United States and abroad, and he is the only four-time winner of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest. He made his New York debut in Carnegie Hall at the age of nineteen, where he performed with Michael Feinstein. Adam has performed at the Cinecon Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the Kennedy Center, as well as in Hungary, Switzerland, and Australia. He has worked with such musicians as Toronto’s John Arpin, former rock star Ian Whitcomb, and legendary 1950s recording artist Johnny Maddox, who was one of Adam’s greatest influences. He lives in Durango, Colorado, where he frequently performs in the Diamond Belle Saloon at the Historic Strater Hotel. Visit Adam online: www.adamgswanson.com.

Josh Duffee was born in Louie Bellson’s hometown of Moline, Illinois, and now resides across the river in Bix Beiderbecke’s hometown of Davenport, Iowa. He specializes in drumming and xylophone playing from the 1920s to the 1940s, while also performing a variety of other styles of music. He’s been performing professionally for the past 20+ years, along with teaching private percussion lessons to middle and high school students. Josh has been a featured musician at jazz festivals and events all over the world, and keeps busy as the leader of many groups in the Davenport area. Josh has received awards and recognition from jazz festivals and organizations. Some of his awards include The Jean Goldkette Award of Excellence, a Special Recognition Award from The Detroit Jazz Festival, and the Bix Lives Award from the Bix Beiderbecke Museum and Archives in Davenport, Iowa. Josh is featured on recordings with jazz groups from around the world, and released his first EP under The Graystone Monarchs in May 2022 for Rivermont Records. This vinyl 78rpm record was made from the Live performance recording from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, the hometown of Chauncey Morehouse.

Martin Spitznagel has been hailed as a remarkable, astonishing, and “face-melting” musical talent. Whether performing Scott Joplin or the score to Star Wars, Martin is truly at home on the piano bench. He found success early, winning a Yamaha Disldavier at the age of 14 in Calliope Media’s nationwide Crazy for Ragtime competition. Martin was largely self-guided until 1998, when he met Dr. Tony Caramia, who challenged him to “find the surprise” in every performance. Under Caramia’s tutelage, Martin flourished, developing a keen ear for melody, a gift for improvisation, and a talent for composition. In the years since, Martin has performed across the country including the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, MO and the West Coast Ragtime Festival in Sacramento, CA. Awards for composition include “Best New Rag” in the 2007 and 2011 at the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest, first place in the 2010 Scott Joplin Foundation’s worldwide “Train Town Rag” composition contest, as well as a Bronze International Galaxy Award and a Platinum MarCom Award for “Best Original Score” for PerformTech Inc.’s holiday e-card. In 2011, Martin was selected as the Scott Joplin Foundation’s Artist in Residence, and in May he claimed the title “World Champion of Old-Time Piano Playing ” at the World Championship Old-Time Piano Play ing ‘Contest in Peoria, IL. Martin currently works as an instructional designer, writer, and filmmaker in Pittsburgh, PA, where he lives with his wife and three children. www.martinspitznagel.com

Dave Bennett doesn’t fit the mold. For starters, you don’t find many jazz clarinet players who name Alice Cooper, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Chris Isaak among their influences. He is equally conversant with the music of Benny Goodman and Roy Orbison . In fact, you may not find even one other clarinet virtuoso who breaks from his Swing Era repertoire to sing rockabilly hits while accompanying himself at the piano or electric guitar. In the early days of jazz, the clarinet joined with trumpet and trombone to create the music’s signature sound, and it ruled the roost in the Swing Era when jazz was America’s popular music and dance-party soundtrack. If anyone can return the clarinet to its heyday, it’s Dave Bennett, who fuses serious jazz improvisation with a host of modern pop influences. Dave has been a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops (2013) and has been featured with 35 other US and Canadian orchestras. Dave has been featured on NPR Radio’s “Jazz at Riverwalk.” He made his European debut in 2008 at The Bern Jazz Festival (Switzerland) in a combo with jazz legends and Benny Goodman band alumni guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli and vibraphonist, the late Peter Appleyard. In March 2022, Dave and his band performed to a sold-out audience at New York City’s Birdland Theater. Dave is a Mack Avenue Records artist. His 2013 CD “Don’t Be That Way” met with critical acclaim. His second release, Blood Moon, which features five origina!s and six pap/jazz covers, reached No 24 on the Billboard Jazz charts in 2018.

Adam Swanson is one of the world’s foremost performers of vintage American popular music, including ragtime, early jazz, the Great American Songbook, and more. He holds a bachelor’s in classical piano and a master’s in musicology from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. Adam has been a featured performer and lecturer at ragtime and jazz festivals across the United States and abroad, and he is the only four-time winner of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest. He made his New York debut in Carnegie Hall at the age of nineteen, where he performed with Michael Feinstein. Adam has performed at the Cinecon Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the Kennedy Center, as well as in Hungary, Switzerland, and Australia. He has worked with such musicians as Toronto’s John Arpin, former rock star Ian Whitcomb, and legendary 1950s recording artist Johnny Maddox, who was one of Adam’s greatest influences. He lives in Durango, Colorado, where he frequently performs in the Diamond Belle Saloon at the Historic Strater Hotel. Visit Adam online: www.adamgswanson.com.

General Information: -4> Entire 4 day concert package – $70.00. 4> Thursday Evening Concert – $15.00. 4> Friday Evening Concert – $20.00. 4> Eagle Watch is free. 4> Saturday Afternoon Silent Movies – $5.00. 4> Saturday Afternoon Concert is – $15.00. 4> Saturday Evening Concert – $20.00. 4> Sunday Afternoon Concert – $15.00. 4> Children 16 and under free to all events.For More Details. Including Ticket Purchase vvwvv.muscatineartscouncil.org davidales@machlink.com

Event Locations:Wesley United Methodist Church at 400 Iowa Avenue, Muscatine Pearl City Station at 200 West Riverfront, Muscatine Muscatine Art Center at 1314 Mulberry Avenue, Muscatine Addington Place of Muscatine 3515 Diana Queen Dr, Muscatine The Merrill Hotel and Conference Center at 119 Mississippi Drive, W., MuscatineThe Muscatine County Arts Council fosters and supports the arts in Muscatine County, Iowa. We sponsor Eagles and Ivories Weekend, the Summer Music on the Mississippi Series, and also provide funding for many educational, artistic and community programs.


Ivory&Gold® delights in sharing music from the era Johnny Mercer called “The Golden Age of Melody” with selections from the Great American Songbook along with a dash of rollicking ragtime, joyous jazz and brassy blues to round out the program! This duo has brought their virtuosity and vibrant wit to hundreds of notable venues, earning worldwide acclaim and requests to return. Jeff Barnhart on the piano and vocals joins his wife Anne Barnhart on flute and vocals, making musical magic and keeping it fresh every time they perform.www.ivoryandgold.net wwwdeffbarnhart.com www.parkerartists.com/Ivory&Gold.html

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