George Van Eps
George Abel Van Eps (born August 7, 1913 in Plainfield , New Jersey , † November 29, 1998 in Newport Beach , California ) was an American jazz guitarist . He was the first jazz musician to play the electric guitar and developed a seven-string guitar as early as 1939.
Live and act
Van Eps comes from a family of musicians; his father was the banjo virtuoso Fred Van Eps, who also appeared with George Gershwin . George Van Eps also played the banjo before he switched to guitar at the age of 13 under the influence of Eddie Lang . In 1927 he recorded his first records with two of his brothers as " Brunswick Recording Artists". He then worked with Harry Reser and Smith Ballew , where he worked with his idol Eddie Lang for six months. Then he played with Freddy Martin in 1933 , with Benny Goodman in 1934/35 and with Ray Noble in 1935/36 , whose orchestra he belonged again from 1939 to 1941 after working as a studio musician in Hollywood .
For the next few years he ran an acoustics laboratory with his father and gave concerts for the first time with the 7 -string guitar he developed in 1939 (with an additional A-string as a bass string for his own solo accompaniment). Then again he worked for years mainly as a studio musician. During this time he recorded with Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey , Paul Weston and Matty Matlock and also starred in the film " Pete Kelly's Blues ". Van Eps has also appeared on various radio shows, including all episodes of Pete Kelly's Blues , and in television orchestras. Occasionally he also made jazz records, such as "Mellow Guitar" in 1956, "My Guitar" in a duo with Frank Flynn in 1966 and the solo album "Soliloqui" in 1968. Due to illness, he paused for a longer period. In 1986 he was on a European tour with Peanuts Hucko .
In the 1990s he made frequent appearances with his student Howard Alden and made several albums for Concord Records . He can also be heard on recordings by Adrian Rollini , Louis Prima , Judy Garland , Frank Sinatra , Red Norvo , Frank Trumbauer and Ralph Sutton .
Lexigraphic entries
- Wolf Kampmann (Ed.), With the assistance of Ekkehard Jost : Reclams Jazzlexikon . Reclam, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-15-010528-5 .
- Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 2: M – Z (= rororo-Sachbuch. Vol. 16513). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16513-9 .
Web links
- Biography at playjazzguitar.com
- Biography at classicjazzguitar.com
- AllAboutJazz
- Literature by and about George Van Eps in the catalog of the German National Library
- George Van Eps in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- George Van Eps at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Portrait (WMNF) ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Alexander Schmitz: The guitar in jazz. Supplementary considerations on JE Berendt's article. In: Guitar & Laute 5, 1983, Issue 1, pp. 82-84; here: p. 83 f.
- ^ Ian Carr , Digby Fairweather , Brian Priestley : Rough Guide Jazz. The ultimate guide to jazz. 1800 bands and artists from the beginning until today. 2nd, expanded and updated edition. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2004, ISBN 3-476-01892-X , p. 701.
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Van Eps, George |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Van Eps, George Abel (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz guitarist |
DATE OF BIRTH | August 7, 1913 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Plainfield, New Jersey |
DATE OF DEATH | November 29, 1998 |
Place of death | Newport Beach , California |