GEORGE VAN EPS & HOWARD ALDEN: Hand crafted swing

GEORGE VAN EPS
Outro dos meus grandes heróis foi George Van Eps, um dos mais mais elegantes guitarristas de jazz, de todos os tempos. Seu método de guitarra foi minha "bíblia", meu livro de cabeceira, durante muitos anos. Van Eps era diferente dos demais guitarristas de sua época: pra começo de conversa, NÃO USAVA PALHETA, o que era (e ainda é) coisa rara entre os guitarristas norte americanos. A guitarra convencional ficou pequena para as mãos e para a arte de Van Eps, que mandou fabricar uma de 7 cordas e a introduziu no mundo do jazz. Suas harmonias requintadas, seu fraseado elegante, econômico e sofisticado, são verdadeiras aulas, que se renovam a cada audição.

(*) Howard Alden, também guitarrista de 7 cordas, neste álbum toca violão de 6 cordas. Entra nesta postagem como Pilatos no Credo, porque foi adotado pelo mestre Van Eps e teve o privilégio de ser seu "partner" em várias gravações e shows...É um bom guitarrista, sem dúvida, mas é a "criatura"... Aprendeu muito, mas não aprendeu TUDO...
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GEORGE VAN EPS
George Van Eps (7 August 1913 – 29 November 1998) (often called "the Father of the Seven String Guitar") was an American swing and Mainstream jazz guitarist noted both for his recordings as a leader, and for his work as a session musician. He was also the author of instructional books that explored his approach to guitar-based harmony. He was well known as a pioneer of the seven-string guitar, which allowed him to incorporate sophisticated bass lines into his improvisation. He was a strong influence on later seven-string players such as Howard Alden(with whom he recorded four CDs for Concord Records in the early 1990's), Bucky Pizzarelli, and John
Pizzarelli (Bucky's son). He is the son of the legendary classic banjo player Fred Van Eps. When George Van Eps died, he left a legacy of phonograph recordings that started in 1934 with the Benny Goodman band (maybe earlier with his father) and ended with his last recording for Concord Records in 1996. During those 62 documented years he made hundreds of recordings as sideman, but only a handful under his own name. And those he made relatively late in his career. Yet, despite this meager output as leading artist, George Van Eps has been revered by every guitar player to come after him. What he did to deserve this acclaim was to single handily
create a whole new way to play jazz guitar that brought a complexity, depth and beauty to the instrument that it didn't have before. George Van Eps grew up in a musical family. His father, Fred Van Eps was a master of the 5-string banjo, his mother was a classically trained pianist and his three older brothers were musicians. George started playing the banjo at age eleven and by age twelve he was out playing professionally with his family. After hearing Eddie Lang for the first time on the radio he made the switch to guitar and by 1934 he was playing with the Benny Goodman band. In that same year he recorded with Adrian Rollini, perhaps
recording his first solos on that date on Somebody Loves Me. He then spent several years with the Ray Noble band before moving on to a freelance career in Hollywood. While in Hollywood, George Van Eps recorded with dozens of artists and every now and then he stepped out front with a solo or showed up as the principal backing for singers like Frank Sinatra. But until the 1960's, Van Eps' primary role was keeping time in a rhythm section. One exception during this period was the series of recordings he made in the mid-1940's on the Jump label with the LaVere Chicago Loopers and as a part of a trio with Eddie Miller and Stan Wrightsman. These recordings put the Van Eps guitar front and center, but due to the limited distribution of the Jump label, did not earn Van Eps much recognition outside of music circles. Then in the late 1950's and early 1960's he made a series of solo recordings for Columbia and Capitol that featured the unique guitar style of George Van Eps. The first of these recordings was Mellow Guitar, followed by My Guitar, Seven String Guitar and Soliloquy. If George Van Eps had not made another recording, this series of recordings would have secured the Van Eps legend. But, then in the 1990's he made a series of brilliant recordings for Concord Records with Howard Alden that made his music accessible to a whole new generation of jazz lovers. And, once again earned the complete admiration of a whole new generation of guitarists. A survey of George Van Eps' recorded work shows that as early as 1935 he was already playing in his unique style. The depth and complexity were not fully developed yet, but the unmistakable style was there. Then, after Epiphone made him a seven-string guitar in 1938, he began displaying the depth, richness and complexity that are the hallmarks of the Van Eps sound. The first major recordings with this new instrument were the Jump recordings from the mid 1940's. The solos recorded at that time like I Wrote It For Jo and Kay's Fantasy and Tea For Two have Van Eps playing bass, melody and supporting chords all himself all at the same time. No over dubbing, no multi-track. These recordings led Clive Acker, the producer of Jump records at the time, to say " ...even the untutored ear can tell that playing these solos is not difficult, it's impossible!"

©Copyright 2005 Classic Jazz Guitar
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HOWARD ALDEN
Howard Alden is a deft 7-string virtuoso with an encyclopedic knowledge of tunes, sophisticated phrasing, and subtle finesse on the guitar. As both a soloist and accompanist, he has worked with greats from Red Norvo, Joe Williams and Woody Herman to Bucky Pizzarelli, Dick Hyman and George Van Eps. Inspired by guitarists Barney Kessel, Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt and George Van Eps (the later whom he was to record several landmark albums with for Concord Jazz Records) his credits include Bucky Pizzarelli, Benny Carter, Flip Phillips, Mel Powell, Bud Freeman, Kenny Davern, Clark Terry, and Dizzy Gillespie. Howard can be heard on the soundtrack to the 1999 Woody Allen movie "Sweet and Low Down" (he also taught actor Sean Penn how to play guitar for the film) as well as many recordings. He resides in Manhattan.
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ALBUM REVIEW
"This memorable duo pairing of veteran George Van Eps and Howard Alden is cause for celebration. With bassist Dave Stone and drummer Jake Hanna's tasty support the two guitarists gently swing through a nostalgia-inducing repertoire. Van Eps' chordal style seven-string playing is the centerpiece to this collection. His "lap piano" style is truly orchestral in approach and offers his younger partner a lush canvas to paint his single-note improvisations. A little treasure. Highly recommended."
(By Joseph Blake, (Victoria, B.C.) Times-Colonist, (Feb 1992)
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MINHA OPINIÃO: neste álbum, George Van Eps tem como "sideman" Howard Alden, que ele adotou e com quem dividiu palcos e estúdios de gravação. Para meus ouvidos acostumados (ou seria, viciados) às sutilezas do mestre Van Eps, dá pra distinguir,
claramente, quando ele está solando. A "criatura" - Howard Alden, apesar de ser um bom músico, fica muito distante do "criador". Na verdade eu pretendia postar um álbum de Van Eps que considero fundamental - "Mellow Guitar" - mas meu LP está imprestável, quase furou de tanto tocar...Encontrei uma cópia na Net, mas está encriptada e o "password" não é disponibilizado pelo blog - coisas da blogosfera. Fico devendo...Embora este não seja o melhor álbum gravado por GVE, é excelente - como tudo que ele gravou. UM LUXO!
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GEORGE VAN EPS & HOWARD ALDEN: Hand crafted swing

PERSONNEL:
Howard Alden, George Van Eps: 7 Strings Jazz Guitars
Dave Stone: Bass
Jake Hanna: Drums

TRACKS/FAIXAS:
1. Stompin' at the Savoy
2. What's New
3. It's Wonderful
4. Lap Piano
5. I Could Write a Book - (bonus track)
6. Tenderly
7. Can't We Be Friends
8. Li'l Darlin'
9. Just in Time
10. The Nearness of You
11. Forty-Eight
12. I've Got a Crush on You - (bonus track)
13. All the Things You Are
14. Moonglow - (bonus track)