Van Eps on internet

[Jody Stecher]

I just found some recordings of Van Eps I hadn't heard before on archive.com.   Of  particular interest, especially to Ian in Blackpool, is a 1919 recording of Ragtime Oriole in which the banjo stands out from the piano accompaniment more clearly than on the 1924 and 1950s recording we were discussing a while back. It's much more evident here what he is playing and what was really piano. Oriole and other recordings are  here:

http://www.archive.org/details/FredVanEpsBanjoOrchestra-01-10

 

and more here:

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Fred+Van+Eps%22

 

here's the 1919 recording. (attached).  It's in A flat. Don't try it at home without adult supervision.

 

 

 

[thereallyniceman]

Yes that is a great recording Jody, thank you.   I still like the 1950s recording with the extra elaborations VE puts in, but this MP3 is excellent for hearing what he is up to!

My main criticism of VE and others of the time is that they play these Ragtime pieces TOO fast. The original score of Ragtime Oriole states in big letters "Do not play fast".  Perhaps they are slow for Van Eps...but they ain't for me :-)

 

I will see if I can put together a rough video recording of my attempt at this piece soon. It starts in 4 flats and then the last section is in 5 flats so only to be attempted with aid of a safety net as Jody suggests.

 

OFF TOPIC..  Having just spent the last too weeks suffering from Swine Flu and now slowly and miserably recovering from it.

Please take my advice...GET A FLU JAB...  NOW

 

I have never been so ill. Not even well enough to practise the banjo :-(

[Jody Stecher]

Also of interest on the site is FVE's recording of Rag Pickings. I think Pat and Eric's performance is no less musical and quite a bit better in coordination between soloist and accompanist. 

thereallyniceman said:

Yes that is a great recording Jody, thank you.   I still like the 1950s recording with the extra elaborations VE puts in, but this MP3 is excellent for hearing what he is up to!

My main criticism of VE and others of the time is that they play these Ragtime pieces TOO fast. The original score of Ragtime Oriole states in big letters "Do not play fast".  Perhaps they are slow for Van Eps...but they ain't for me :-)

 

I will see if I can put together a rough video recording of my attempt at this piece soon. It starts in 4 flats and then the last section is in 5 flats so only to be attempted with aid of a safety net as Jody suggests.

 

OFF TOPIC..  Having just spent the last too weeks suffering from Swine Flu and now slowly and miserably recovering from it.

Please take my advice...GET A FLU JAB...  NOW

 

I have never been so ill. Not even well enough to practise the banjo :-(

[Nick Robinson]

I have a tape of an interview of Fred Van Eps by Jim Walsh in 1955. At one point the interviewer asks Van Eps if he had any trouble with the material, and Eps says no, I always practiced slow and then there was no problem. I'll see about digitizing that bit and posting it. Most of the interview is agonizingly boring. You keep wanting the interviewer to ask about the music but he's more interested in the recording technology and discographical details, and Van Eps is generally content to tell him what he wants to hear.

I also have a tape of Van Eps playing Temptation Rag... not sure if that one's freely available on the net...

 

Rob MacKillop said:

Glad to hear you are getting better, Ian. I'll phone the docs after this message. I'm an asthmatic, so I get the swine flu and regular flu vacines annually, but I should have done it a month or two ago.

 

Speed of ragtime. That's a big topic. Scott Joplin stated many times that 'rags should never be played fast', yet his piano rolls fly along. Some people say we can't trust the rolls, and I hope we can't. Scott Joplin playing The Entertainer just sounds like he was in a hurry to get out of the studio. I'm just not a fast player on any instrument. It's just my way. And for a while I was thinking, 'I'll never play these pieces as fast as Vess or Olly', but why should I? They often sound better at slower speeds. I wonder if Vess's recordings were recorded slow and speeded up on playback? Have you checked the pitch? But even there there is room for error to creep in. What pitch was he and the orchestra or piano tuned to? It might not have been the modern A=440. I think we all have our own inner rhythm and tempo, and as long as we stay true to that, the music should sound about right.

[Jody Stecher]

Not the 1952 interview by Lou Green at a train station? We were discussing that about a year and a half ago here on this site. that one was pretty interesting. The link seems to still be good. Re the 1955 interview, I think discography and recording technology are pretty interesting actually. I'm sure we'd all love to hear it.

http://saggyrecordcabinet.blogspot.com/2009/02/fred-van-eps-1952.html

Nick Robinson said:

I have a tape of an interview of Fred Van Eps by Jim Walsh in 1955. At one point the interviewer asks Van Eps if he had any trouble with the material, and Eps says no, I always practiced slow and then there was no problem. I'll see about digitizing that bit and posting it. Most of the interview is agonizingly boring. You keep wanting the interviewer to ask about the music but he's more interested in the recording technology and discographical details, and Van Eps is generally content to tell him what he wants to hear.

I also have a tape of Van Eps playing Temptation Rag... not sure if that one's freely available on the net...

 

 

[Nick Robinson]

Nope, what I've got is a different interview. Thanks for the link to the Lou Green one though, its marvelous! I'll digitize the first bit of the thing I've got and folks can let me know if its already widely available. Point taken about the interest in discographies and recording technology. More later... happy new year!

Jody Stecher said:

Not the 1952 interview by Lou Green at a train station? We were discussing that about a year and a half ago here on this site. that one was pretty interesting. The link seems to still be good. Re the 1955 interview, I think discography and recording technology are pretty interesting actually. I'm sure we'd all love to hear it.

http://saggyrecordcabinet.blogspot.com/2009/02/fred-van-eps-1952.html

Nick Robinson said:

I have a tape of an interview of Fred Van Eps by Jim Walsh in 1955. At one point the interviewer asks Van Eps if he had any trouble with the material, and Eps says no, I always practiced slow and then there was no problem. I'll see about digitizing that bit and posting it. Most of the interview is agonizingly boring. You keep wanting the interviewer to ask about the music but he's more interested in the recording technology and discographical details, and Van Eps is generally content to tell him what he wants to hear.

I also have a tape of Van Eps playing Temptation Rag... not sure if that one's freely available on the net...

 

 

[Nick Robinson]

I just posted the first segment of an interview of Fred Van Eps by Jim Walsh in 1955. Its on my member page in My Music.

Nick Robinson said:

Nope, what I've got is a different interview. Thanks for the link to the Lou Green one though, its marvelous! I'll digitize the first bit of the thing I've got and folks can let me know if its already widely available. Point taken about the interest in discographies and recording technology. More later... happy new year!

Jody Stecher said:

Not the 1952 interview by Lou Green at a train station? We were discussing that about a year and a half ago here on this site. that one was pretty interesting. The link seems to still be good. Re the 1955 interview, I think discography and recording technology are pretty interesting actually. I'm sure we'd all love to hear it.

http://saggyrecordcabinet.blogspot.com/2009/02/fred-van-eps-1952.html

Nick Robinson said:

I have a tape of an interview of Fred Van Eps by Jim Walsh in 1955. At one point the interviewer asks Van Eps if he had any trouble with the material, and Eps says no, I always practiced slow and then there was no problem. I'll see about digitizing that bit and posting it. Most of the interview is agonizingly boring. You keep wanting the interviewer to ask about the music but he's more interested in the recording technology and discographical details, and Van Eps is generally content to tell him what he wants to hear.

I also have a tape of Van Eps playing Temptation Rag... not sure if that one's freely available on the net...

 

 

[Nick Robinson]

I posted the second segment of an interview with Fred Van Eps by Jim Walsh in 1955. Its on my member page.