The Lobster's Promenade - Porter Steele, arr. Van Eps and Frank Banta

This is a really fun piece by Porter Steele (originally subtitled "a submarine escapade") which, for reasons which I cannot fathom, definitely has a very "lobster-y" feel to it. It also reminds me of "Mosquito's Parade", another hit of the times which famously featured in the film "55 Days in Peking". It was arranged for banjo by Fred Van Eps, and the piano part was arranged by none other than Frank Banta, who often played duets with Fred. So we've had one of the greatest banjoists and one of the greatest pianists ever joining forces in this piece! (And now it's being butchered by a no-talent hack like myself)

AFAIK Fred recorded this one twice, in 1903 (cylinder) and 1914 (record).

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Comment by thereallyniceman on September 29, 2012 at 18:42

I always liked that tune! What surprises me about other recordings is how fast it is played. Perhaps I am old fashioned... or just old, but aren't promenades supposed to be leisurely affairs?  I would have increased the tempo slightly (easy for me to say!), but not made it a sprint down the prom like some.

:-)

Great stuff Mike. You amaze me how quickly that you get your fingers around these pieces!

Comment by Mike Moss on September 29, 2012 at 18:47

Hi Ian,

yeah, I agree! I kept it at march tempo (120 bpm) as Fred seems to play this one at 150 bpm or such... I tried, but I feel that it loses  that leisurely feel. I feel that the slower tempo can bring out those long slides and give it a bit more swing... plus it clocks in at 3 minutes which is more or less what a banjo solo should last, in my opinion.

Thanks for the comment. I'm trying the Oakley approach to banjo playing... play something, mistakes and all, and then move on to the next solo!

Comment by Trapdoor2 on September 29, 2012 at 22:36

Cool! Too slow though. I would go for 138.6bpm. ;-)

This is one of the first Classic tunes I attempted...mainly because I had the Brooks & Denton "Gems #1) book (printed in both notation and tab, 1893). I learnt "Berkeley March", "White Star Line March" and "Lobsters Promenade" from that book...but now can only recall Berkeley March.

Comment by Mike Moss on September 29, 2012 at 22:48

Yeah, I'll probably attempt a faster recording... when (if) I get a new banjo ;-)

I'd also like to record Mosquito's Parade... in keeping with the spirit of this piece, and Ossman recorded it before Van Eps recorded Lobster's Promenade AFAIK. Should be interesting to see mosquitoes parading and lobsters promenading all over Classic Banjo Ning!

Comment by Richard William Ineson on October 2, 2012 at 8:11

This tune is better than I thought it was, I haven't played it since Nassau Kennedy went back to Canada in, I think, 1924.

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