Fred Van Eps

Fred Truck Eps was most likely the most significant banjoist in early records, notwithstanding stiff competition in the acoustic era from artists such as for example Vess L. Ossman and Olly Oakley. In acoustic documenting, the banjo was a favorite, mainstream instrument, and frequently applied to early information because of its apparent, penetrating tone. A FRESH Jersey native, Truck Eps had not been quite twenty years old when he bought his initial phonograph in 1896, mainly in order that he could hear information created by his idol, Vess L. Ossman. Within a yr, he was applying this phonograph to create his own house recordings on polish cylinder blanks, and in 1897, Vehicle Eps contacted the Edison business to make information with them. Although his early Edison cylinders offered well, Vehicle Eps was relatively sluggish in breaking in to the business of documenting on disk — his 1st Columbia made an appearance in 1904, and his 1st Victor record, “The Burglar Buck,” didn’t show up until 1910. The second option title shifted many copies for Victor, and in the ensuing 10 years, Vehicle Eps was therefore well-known that he could work for virtually any record label in the us, using the Victors outselling the information he designed for others. In 1912, Truck Eps produced the Truck Eps Trio with pianist Felix Arndt and his sibling Bill Truck Eps. This group would comprise the primary from the furious documenting activity that could keep Fred Truck Eps very active in the 10 years to check out. Although how big is his groupings hardly ever exceeded five people, his information arrived under a number of identities: Truck Eps Banjo Orchestra, Truck Eps Quartet, Truck Eps Area of expertise Four, among others. Through his groupings came musicians such as for example percussionists George Hamilton Green and Eddie Ruler, saxophonists Nathan Glantz and Rudy Wiedoeft, and especially pianist Frank Banta, whom on some information was co-billed with Truck Eps as the Truck Eps-Banta Trio. In 1921 the Truck Eps Trio was the main topic of the initial known filmed well-known music functionality with synchronized audio, the short subject matter A Little bit of Jazz created by speaking picture pioneer O.T. Kellum. From around 1922 Vehicle Eps started to slacken his saving activity. He previously entered right into a collaboration having a touring band of Victor performers, and many of them chipped in seed cash to manufacture a particular kind of banjo Vehicle Eps had developed. Nevertheless, the enterprise was failing, as well as the arrival of electrical documenting in 1925 as well as the concurrent decrease of ragtime music dealt a mortal blow to Vehicle Eps’ recognition. He produced his last 78s for Gray Gull in 1927, however in the 30 years Vehicle Eps had recently been documenting he had were able to produce a huge selection of specific titles that may number over one thousand problems. Vehicle Eps came back to documenting for his very own 5 String Banjo label beginning in 1950, making his last record in 1956, producing his 59-calendar year span of documenting activity among the longest ever sold. Although in pure technical terms Truck Eps surpassed Ossman — Truck Eps could play 14 records in another — many ragtime fanciers choose the crude muscularity of Ossman’s shows. Truck Eps also hardly ever contacted the harmonic intricacy of his youthful modern Harry Reser, and unlike Reser acquired no curiosity about sinking in to the texture of the jazz music group, preferring to function primarily being a soloist. His kid, George Truck Eps, discovered on banjo, but afterwards exchanged it in and became among the great pioneers of jazz electric guitar. George was still documenting when the hundredth wedding anniversary of his father’s initial recordings emerged around in 1997.