Chatterbox Rag
Sax Quartet

Chatterbox Rag

George Botsford (1874 – 1949)

SATB Saxophone Quartet

Chatterbox Rag, by George Botsford arranged for Saxophone Quartet SATB. Chatterbox Rag, by composer George Botsford is a fun, bubbly rag that offers the players and the audience a good time.

Unlike the classic rags of Scott Joplin, the Chatterbox Rag uses an A-B-B-A-C-B form. The soprano, alto, and tenor parts toss melody lines back and forth between them as the bari chugs along on a classic ragtime bass line. Of moderate difficulty, it’s most effective if you keep the tempo at a moderate pace.

• The range for each saxophone part is shown below.
• Audio and score excerpts are available above.
• Registered users can download a complete sample score and full length audio file of Chatterbox Rag
  Sax Quartet on the ‘Samples’ tab.

George Botsford (February 24, 1874 – February 11, 1949) was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and grew up in Iowa. His first copyrighted work was “The Katy Flyer — Cake Walk,” published in 1899. His most important rag is “Black and White Rag,” published in 1908. Other Botsford compositions include “Grizzly Bear Rag,” “Pianophiends Rag,” “Texas Steer,” “Boomerang Rag,” and “Sailing Down the Chesapeake Bay.”

Botsford moved to New York City and became a Tin Pan Alley composer. He was active as a composer and arranger until his death in 1940.