Fred Van Eps

about

Fred Van Eps (December 30, 1878 – November 22, 1960) was a noted banjoist and banjo maker. The "Van Eps Recording Banjo" was a well-known model until 1930. Van Eps was born in Somerville, New Jersey and moved with his family to Plainfield, New Jersey in 1892. He learned to play the banjo and studied the phonograph cylinder recordings of Vess Ossman. In 1897 Van Eps was hired by Thomas Edison's National Phonograph Company in West Orange, New Jersey, working as a regular in studio engagements. Van Eps cylinder recordings, often remakes of Ossman tunes, sold well for Edison. Early ragtime banjo recordings by Van Eps included "A Bunch of Rags" (1900) and "A Ragtime Episode" (1902). He also recorded for a number of other companies, including Columbia (from 1904) and Victor (from 1910). His group the Van Eps Trio recorded steadily from 1912 to 1922. He also led other groups such as the Van Eps Quartet, the Van Eps Specialty Four, and the Van Eps Banjo Orchestra. In 1914, the latter group was one of the first to record for the American branch of the French Pathé Frères Company. In 1921, Orlando Kellum, inventor of the Photokinema sound-on-disc sound film system, filmed the Van Eps Trio in The Famous Van Eps Trio in a Bit of Jazz. With Henry Burr, he formed a company that manufactured and sold the Van Eps Recording Banjo, modeled on the one he used in recordings and concerts. The banjo remained on the market until about 1930, when widespread use of electric recording removed the n

top songs

albums

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Those Ragtime Banjos

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Vintage Ragtime Banjo Music

Kings of the Ragtime Banjo

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Vintage Ragtime Classics 1898-1916

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That Devilin' Tune - A Jazz History, 1895-1950 Volume 1 (Disc 2)

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Country Music Pioneers On Edison

Ragtime 1900-1930 - Jazz Tribune No. 42

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Indestructible Record: 823

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Rag Pickings

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Fred Van Eps and Vess L. Ossman - Kings of the Ragtime Banjo

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You Ain't Talkin' To Me: Charlie Poole And The Roots Of Country Music (Disc 2)

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Ragtime 1900 1930

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