New Fred Van Eps Recordings!

[thereallyniceman]

I have been having a hunt around and have come across a couple of rare Fred Van Eps recordings that I have never heard before and thought that I would share them with you.

 

The first one was recorded in 1915 and is a great solo called:

“Lost Arrow- An Indian Romance"

 

Fred Van Eps: LOST ARROW

The second from 1915, is a really odd one incorporating parts of the William Tell Overture crossed with what sounds like George Formby’s “Frank on his tank” !

 

Fred Van Eps: I WONDER WHAT WILL WILLIAM TELL

(Here is George Formby, see what you think:    Frank on his Tank  )

enjoy!

[thereallyniceman]

Thanks for the great response. Obviously all the work I put into finding, editing, cataloguing, databases entry and uploading to the JUKEBOX and posting about these recordings isn’t wasted.

 

Perhaps we can now all enjoy this piece by the Ossman Banjo Trio  (aka Ossman Dudley Trio) as much as we did the Van Eps tunes.

 

OSSMAN TRIO: I’ve got a feeling for you

The tremolo throughout is impressive. My guess is that it is finger tremolo rather than plectrum, but that is only my guess.

[Jody Stecher]

I was still digesting the new Van Eps recording before responding. Re the tremolo on the Banjo Trio recording, I think it's likely  to be finger tremolo considering who the players are but it does sound like a soft plectrum.  I think this recording is Edison 8841 which means it is Vess Ossman, Bill Farmer, and Parke Hunter.  The  Ossman-Dudley trio was a different aggregation consisting of Ossman's banjo, a harp-guitar, and what is listed as mandolin but sounds to me like mandolin-banjo. They recorded 2 years later.

I think I hear a piano behind the 3 banjos on this recording. Does anyone agree?

[Michael Hughes]

Thanks for these wonderful recordings! Re the tremolo, the trio context and the clarity of the tremolo suggests, to my ears, a plectrum. The playing seems to take place on a single-string.

I'm really enjoying the jukebox on this site. Here's another great jukebox, this from the Smithsonian: http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/

[thereallyniceman]

Thanks Michael and Jody,

I will keep looking for rare recordings. I still can't decide whether the tremolo is finger or plectrum! I agree it is single string, but there were some clever players at the time who could do single string melody tremolo.

The Smithsonian Jukebox is very good, as it should be. I guess they have a bit more money to spare on it than we do ;-)

Re: the Fred Van Eps "I wonder what will William tell" solo...  I think it is dreadful !

[Jody Stecher]

I don't understand the comments about single strings. Can someone please explain? The two explanations I can think of don't seem to fit. 1) the melody is being played entirely horizontally. For instance on the second string without ever touching the neighboring 3rd and 1st strings. But I don't think that is the case and am in doubt that anyone could tell if it was played on one string.  2) the tremolo is being played on an instrument that is not a (double-strung)mandolin. But we already know that. It's Ossman, Farmer, and Hunter, all players of a banjo with 5 single strings. 

so what was meant please? There is no difference in difficulty playing tremolo on single or double strings. So I am missing something.

[Trapdoor2]

I agree, I hear a piano in the background.

As far as what was meant, I dunno. I think it sounds like a plectrum trem but I also know that these guys were top-drawer fingerstylists. Eps, esp. said he'd made quite a study of finger-trem and eventually developed a three-finger trem. that was quite fast (he claimed 14notes per second) and smooth.

[thereallyniceman]

What I take single string tremolo to be is that that  ANY one of (or each of) the individual strings at a time are tremoloed,  as opposed to chord tremolo across a number of the strings.

You can almost "feel" the fretting finger  sliding up and down a single string.... I don't know which of the strings..  just what I hear.   This makes it sound as though it could be plectrum, but it doesn't sound like a plectrum to me.

[Jody Stecher]

Yes, one can feel the finger sliding. :-) . Any given tremolo phrase is played on a single string. I can hear that.  To do such sliding with a continuous tremolo and to switch strings mid-slide would be very difficult. A neat trick though!

[marc dalmasso]

Osmann : i should say : only  2  banjos  &  piano ; sometimes  the 2 bjs are tremoloing at the same time ;

[thereallyniceman]

A friend who is a whiz on audio editing using software that a Muppet, like myself, couldn’t even turn on:

 

Has sent me a noise reduced file of the “I’ve got a feeling for you” recording, minus the sizzling bacon, snaps, crackles and pops.

The quality is significantly improved and it is easier to work out who is playing what.

 

I’VE GOT A FEELING FOR YOU, NOISE REDUCED

My friend has suggested that: “you can hear three banjos but no piano. At times, two banjos are tremoloing. The lead tremolo is strong and clear, sounding much like a plectrum on mando banjo strings, but given the trio's personnel, must be a highly accomplished finger-style banjoist; my guess would be Parke-Hunter.”

….. What do you think?

I am not a great fan of “cleaned up” recordings as they never actually sounded that way in the first place, even when brand new, due to the quality of the equipment used to record and replay them..

BUT they may give a better impression of how the actual live performance sounded.

[marc dalmasso]

Yes ; very good audio ' job ;  he has done a good " compromis "  , exit the noises & keeping the banjo ' tone . my first idea was this one , only 3 banjos & no piano at all .

why ? ; because , the tittle say  " banjo trio " , they must be only three musicians  and 2nd reason , there are no notes in the recording  from the piano med_low ' tessiture ; however , i hear a piano ' sound ; so  i will finally say ; your friend is right , there are 3 banjos and the 3rd one sound like a piano ; only the playing ' tessiture is there  to proove it 's  a 3rd banjo , in fact

[Alan Sims]

Yes much clearer .I think lead banjo is plcctrum  trem and other a finger trem . I am sure i can hear another instrument a piano or banjo .