George Abel Van Eps (August 7, 1913 – November 29, 1998)[1] was an American swing and mainstream jazz guitarist.[2]
George Van Eps
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George Van Eps in 1949
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | George Abel Van Eps |
| Born | (1913-08-07)August 7, 1913 Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | November 29, 1998(1998-11-29) (aged 85) Newport Beach, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, swing |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Seven-string guitar |
| Years active | 1924–1998 |
| Labels | Euphoria, Capitol, Concord Jazz |
George Van Eps was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, United States,[3] into a family of musicians. His three brothers – Fred Abel Van Eps, Jr. (1907–1980), Robert B. Van Eps (1909–1986),[2] and John A. Van Eps (1912–1945)[4] – were musicians. His mother, Louise Abel, was a classical pianist and his father, Fred Van Eps, was a ragtime banjoist and sound engineer.[3] George Van Eps began playing banjo when he was eleven years old.[3] After hearing Eddie Lang on the radio, he put down the banjo and devoted himself to guitar.[3] By the age of thirteen, in 1926, he was performing on the radio. Through the middle of the 1930s, he played with Harry Reser, Smith Ballew, Freddy Martin, Benny Goodman, and Ray Noble.[5][6][7]
Van Eps moved to California and spent most of his remaining career as a studio musician, playing on many commercials and movie soundtracks.[5]
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.[7]
Dixieland had a following in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 1950s, and he played in groups led by Bob Crosby and Matty Matlock and appeared in the film Pete Kelly's Blues.[5] He played guitar on Frank Sinatra's 1955 album. In the Wee Small Hours.
Van Eps played guitar into his eighties, having built a career that lasted over sixty years.[7] He died of pneumonia in Newport Beach, California, on November 29, 1998, at the age of 85.[7][1]