Banjoists the world over will mourn the passing of Fred Van Eps, who joined the banjoists Valhalla on 22nd November, last. He was found dead in his car at Burbank, California, after taking a driving test at the Motor Vehicle Department's office. His son George said, his 81 year old father probably died through the excitement of undergoing the test.
Descended from an old Colonial Dutch family, which settled in New York and New Jersey, Fred Van Eps was born in Somerville, New Jersey on December 31st, 1878, and was taught to play the violin at the age of eight. He played the instrument at a concert and was hailed as something of a prodigy. Four years later, he heard the banjo being played by a railroad conductor named George W. Jenkins, promptly bought a banjo (which Van Eps later said, had a hoop, an elaborately inlaid fingerboard, five strings - and very little tone) and persuaded the friendly conductor to teach him the few melodies he could play. As Mr. Jenkins could not read music, the young Fred learned the tunes "parrot fashion".
One day he heard Vess Ossman's cylinder recording of Ruby Brooks' "White Star Line" - and promptly copied the record! A phonograph and every available banjo cylinder were quickly purchased by the young enthusiast, who soon reached the stage of buying a new cylinder in the morning and having the solo memorized and written out in MS by the evening.
On his next visit to New York City the young Van Eps bought his first banjo solo - "Coconut Dance" - and every enthusiastic collector of gramophone records knows what a grand recording he made of this perennial number for the Columbia Co, some years later.
In 1897, while still in short pants, Fred Van Eps made two wax cylinders of his own playing and took them to the Edison Phonograph Company at West Orange, New Jersey, but Mr. Edison doubted whether the young boy had made them. Fred returned with his banjo and this proved to be the start of his long career.
The Edison Company engaged him to make forty cylinders every Thursday - at a fee of forty dollars. The recording horns of those days were made with square ends so they could be grouped together and the banjoist had to pick "loud and clear" for the wax to take the impressions. Each single playing of a solo would produce seven saleable cylinders. Later, of course, a way was found to gold-plate a cylinder so that several commercial cylinders could be reproduced from it.
One Sunday, whilst "fooling around with the banjo", Van Eps realized a lot of tone was coming out of the back of the instrument and he tried the effect of placing a tin plate at the back to project the tone forward. This was one of the earliest improvised resonators.
Later he also cut a hole in the vellum (the perimeter of which was reinforced with Celluloid to prevent splitting) and coupled with the "closed back" he was able to produce better recording tone. When the Victor Co. (H.M.V.) began in 1900, Fred Van Eps recorded for them and was engaged to tour the U.S.A. as one of the "Eight Victor Artists" - to boost the sales of Victor records. After seven years of the "prestige" touring (during which the eight start players were given V.I.P. treatment whenever they appeared,) Fred sought a change and was replaced by saxophonist Rudy Weidoft.
Later he re-recorded many of Ossman's Victor records, as defects were found in the originals. For collectors it is interesting to note that quite a number of these re-recordings were issued on the original labels, i.e. it is possible to discover Victor recordings of a title with Vess Ossman or Fred Van Eps given as the player; the label number being identical. During his recording career, Fred Van Eps made records for all the major gramophone companies in the U.S. and has probably made more records than any other finger-style banjoist. Internationally known artists who have assisted Mr. Van Eps in his records include pianists Felix Arndt (composer of "Nola"), Frank Banta and George Gershwin, and saxophonist Nathan Glantz.
He became interested in alternate fingering on the banjo when he had some instruction from A. A. Farland but the pupil "walked out" on his teacher when he was asked to play a piece of classical music arranged for the banjo. Mr. Van Eps always favoured the more popular banjoistic type of number. When Mr. Eps failed to find a banjo to suit his advancing ideas, he built one in his own workshops (which were primarily concerned with recording equipment - several of the major recording companies in America still make use of his patent recording stylus) and up to recent times he continued to make special instruments to order.
In his younger days he was actively engaged in teaching orchestral and radio work (he was coach and director of the Princeton University Banjo Club) and at the height of the dance-band craze he was supplying orchestras for every imaginable function at a time when high fees were to be had for the asking. At one time no high class function was complete without a Fred Van Eps orchestra.
It is surprising to learn that Mr. Van Eps tried to keep his four sons out of the music business but he once laughingly said that they were his most successful failures. Fred Jr. is a first class trumpet player who did a lot of arranging for the Ray Nobel orchestra; Robert is a brilliant pianist who recorded with the Dorsey Brothers on Brunswick; John plays tenor saxophone and was for some time with the Joe Haymes orchestra and then went to Tommy Dorsey; George, whose featured instrument is the plectrum guitar (although he plays tenor and plectrum banjo), has played with Ray Noble, Harry Reser, Smith Bellow, Freddy Martin, Red Nichols, Benny Goodman and recorded with Glenn Miller and Adrian Rollini.
Today he spends most of his time in the West Coast of America recording and film studios. Many enthusiasts will recall Fred Van Eps visit to England in 1945. This personal contact revealed many facets of his playing and several were intrigued by his system of triple fingering which he started to work out in 1932. By the time Mr. Van Eps had encountered all possible styles of music and all the attendant difficulties of transcription. As it was impossible to play, for instance, certain passages written for piano, violin, etc, using the thumb and two fingers, the idea of using the third finger in addition was tried and found to be the answer to his problem.
Six years of careful effort were required before the third finger could do all that was required of it but Fred persevered and many will remember his recital (organized by his friend Tom Edwards) when he demonstrated the reward of those years of toil. It is no small thing to go back to the beginning at the age of fifty-four but he developed a technique which enabled him to play fourteen notes per second if the music demanded it.
In conversation with Fred during his visit he told me he was working on a complete exposition of his method of fingering, with graded material for both beginners and advanced players. We wonder if this was ever completed and if so, whether it will be given to enthusiasts. His use of thumb, first and second fingers on every string but the fifth gave him terrific speed; each not being distinct, however fast the tempo, with good tone never being sacrificed.
Fred Van Eps was called the "dean of banjoists". With his passing the world is a poorer place but in the particular part of Valhalla where other "greats" have been awaiting him there must be rejoicing, for he was truly one of them.
To his sons we tender our sincerest condolences.