[ Joyce Brite wrote in 120309 MMDigest:

> Have any of Still's works been recorded on piano rolls?

Several of William Grant Still's compositions were recorded onto
piano roll by jazz pianist James Johnson and possibly others, but
I don't think the composer ever recorded any rolls himself.

During my undergrad studies I actually knew his granddaughter, Celeste
Headlee, who was in the same study program I was in.  Celesta manages
a web page about him here:  http://www.williamgrantstill.com/  You
could probably contact her from there and possibly learn more about
his roll recordings.

He was a very interesting character and it was fun listening to stories
about him by an immediate family member.  Like Scott Joplin, he was one
of those composers who fought a constant battle in order to achieve
recognition because he was black.  Nevertheless, as early as the 1920s
people were turning their heads toward what he was doing.

He was the first black composer to have written an opera and then
actually have it performed with respectful reviews, and was a guest
conductor of several symphonies.  I don't recall all of the details but
he was also one of the first to write music for radio, and later
television, and he had become personal friends with several Hollywood
personalities.  He died in Los Angeles, I believe, in the late 1970s.

Rob Goodale
Las Vegas, Nevada