“For those unfamiliar with John William ‘Blind’ Boone (1864-1927), this superb recording by Juilliard alum John Davis will be a revelation…Davis’ bravura technique and grand style have been lovingly caught by engineers Al Houghton and David Smith, making it easy for listeners to conjure up images of rustling parlor curtains on a Kansas City summer night. The ‘enhanced’ CD–pop it into a computer–includes an eight-minute film by Joan Grossman called Music Miner, with Davis recalling his early exposure to much of this music, and the racier prohibition days in Kansas City’s 18th & Vine District, a neighborhood packed with jazz and blues clubs. This recording should go a long way toward raising the profile of one of Scott Joplin’s most imaginative contemporaries.”

Bruce Hodges, The Juilliard Journal