1/22/2018 George Van Eps - Wikipedia

George Van Eps

George Van Eps (August 7, 1913 – November 29, 1998) (often called the
George Van Eps
Father of the Seven-String Guitar) was an American swing and mainstream
jazz guitarist. Birth name George Abel Van
Eps
Born August 7, 1913
Plainfield, New
Contents Jersey, U.S.
Died November 29,
Biography
1998 (aged 85)
Discography
As leader or co-leader Newport Beach,
As sideman California

Bibliography Genres Jazz, swing

References Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Seven-string
guitar
Biography Years active 1924–1998
George Van Eps was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, into a family of Labels Euphoria,
musicians. His three brothers were musicians. His mother was a classical Capitol, Concord
pianist and his father, Fred Van Eps, was a ragtime banjoist. George Van Jazz
Eps began playing banjo when he was eleven years old. After hearing Eddie Associated acts Freddy Martin,
Lang on the radio, he put down the banjo and devoted himself to guitar. By Benny Goodman,
the age of thirteen, in 1926, he was performing on the radio. Through the Ray Noble,
middle of the 1930s, he played with Harry Reser, Smith Ballew, Freddy Howard Alden
Martin, Benny Goodman, and Ray Noble.[1][2][3]

Van Eps moved to California and spent most of his remaining career as a studio musician, playing on many
commercials and movie soundtracks.[1]

In the 1930s, he invented a model of guitar with another bass string added to the common six-string guitar. The seven-
string guitar allowed him to play basslines below his chord voicings, unlike the single-string style of Charlie Christian
and Django Reinhardt. He called his technique "lap piano". It anticipated the fingerpicking style of country guitarists
Chet Atkins and Merle Travis and inspired jazz guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, and Howard Alden to pick
up the seven-string.[3]

Dixieland had a following in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 1950s, and he played in groups led by Bob Crosby, Pete
Kelly, and Matty Matlock.[1]

Van Eps played guitar into his 80s, having built a career that lasted over sixty years.[3] He died of pneumonia in
Newport Beach, California on November 29, 1998 at the age of 85.[4][3]

Discography

As leader or co-leader

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Van_Eps 1/3
1/22/2018 George Van Eps - Wikipedia

1949 Jump Presents George Van Eps (Jump)

1956 Mellow Guitar (Sundazed)
1965 My Guitar (Euphoria)
1967 Seven-String Guitar (Capitol)
1968 Soliloquy (Euphoria)
1991 Thirteen Strings with Howard Alden (Concord)
1992 Hand-Crafted Swing with Howard Alden (Concord)
1993 Seven & Seven with Howard Alden (Concord)
1994 Keepin' Time with Howard Alden (Concord)
1994 Legends (Concord) with Johnny Smith
2003 George Van Eps, Eddie Miller, and Stanley Wright (Jump)[5][1]

As sideman
1947 The Voice of Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra
1953 Jam Session: Coast to Coast, Eddie Condon
1955 Pete Kelly's Blues, Ray Heindorf
1956 Casa Loma in Hi-Fi!, Casa Loma Orchestra
1958 And They Called It Dixieland, Matty Matlock
1958 Pete Kelly Lets His Hair Down, Matty Matlock
1960 Swingin' Decade, Casa Loma Orchestra
1960 Bing & Satchmo, Louis Armstrong/Bing Crosby
1987 Louis Armstrong & All-Stars 1947–1950, Louis Armstrong
1987 Sing, Sing, Sing Benny Goodman
1988 The Complete Columbia Recordings (1949–1953), Sarah Vaughan
1989 I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues, Jack Teagarden
1989 Portrait of Bunny Berigan Bunny Berigan
1992 Easy Jazz, Paul Weston
1994 It's Magic, Doris Day
1994 Louis Prima Vol. 1, Louis Prima
1995 Bouncin' in Rhythm, Adrian Rollini
1996 The Mel Tormé Collection, Mel Tormé
1997 Barrelhouse, Boogie, and the Blues, Ella Mae Morse
1998 Memories of You, Rosemary Clooney
1998 Swing Era 1927–1947, Gene Krupa
1998 The Queen of Big Band Swing, Helen Ward
1999 Happy Holidays: I Love the Winter Weather, Jo Stafford
1999 Knockin' on Wood, Red Norvo
1999 Musical Marriage, Peggy Lee
2000 That Lucky Old Sun, Frankie Laine
2001 Mr. Silvertone, Freddy Martin
2002 The All–Stars at Bob Haggart's 80th Birthday Party, Bob Haggart
2003 Forty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett, Tony Bennett
2006 In Person 1925–1955, Hoagy Carmichael
2007 John Pisano's Guitar Night, John Pisano[6]

Bibliography
Van Eps, George (1939). Method for Guitar. Epiphone. ASIN B004IHGA1Y (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IH
GA1Y).
Van Eps, George (1993). Guitar Solos. Mel Bay Publications. ASIN B0013GHRKG (https://www.amazon.com/dp/
B0013GHRKG).
Van Eps, George (1980). Harmonic Mechanisms for Guitar, Volume One. Mel Bay Publications. ISBN 978-
0871669063.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Van_Eps 2/3
1/22/2018 George Van Eps - Wikipedia

Van Eps, George (1981). Harmonic Mechanisms for Guitar, Volume Two. Mel Bay Publications. ISBN 978-
0786609246.
Van Eps, George (1982). Harmonic Mechanisms for Guitar, Volume Three. Mel Bay Publications. ISBN 978-
1562223663.

References
1. Yanow, Scott (2013). The Great Jazz Guitarists. San Francisco: Backbeat. p. 199. ISBN 978-1-61713-023-6.
2. Peerless, Brian (2002). Kernfeld, Barry, ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2 (2 ed.). New York: Grove's
Dictionaries Inc. p. 825. ISBN 1-56159-284-6.
3. Ginell, Richard S. "George Van Eps" (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-van-eps-mn0000540103/biography).
AllMusic. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
4. Watrous, Peter (7 December 1998). "George Van Eps, 85, Musician Who Popularized 7-String Guitar" (https://ww
w.nytimes.com/1998/12/07/arts/george-van-eps-85-musician-who-popularized-7-string-guitar.html). The New York
Times.
5. "George Van Eps | Album Discography" (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-van-eps-mn0000540103/discogra
phy). AllMusic. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
6. "George Van Eps | Credits | AllMusic" (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-van-eps-mn0000540103/credits).
AllMusic. Retrieved 18 August 2017.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Van_Eps&oldid=814835899"

This page was last edited on 11 December 2017, at 05:48.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using
this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Van_Eps 3/3