George Van Eps was a jazz guitarist legend. He was the one who, as far back in the 1930s, pioneered a harmonically complex chordal/lead style. This style was later eclipsed by single-string idioms like Charlie Christian and Django reinhardt. Van Eps was also an innovator, and he designed a seven-string guitar with an additional bass string in the late 1930s. Van Eps could play both basslines and chords simultaneously, much like country guitarists Chet Atkins and Merle Travis. Van Eps referred to his playing style as “lap piano” and his seven-string guitar was adopted by Bucky Pizzarelli, Howard Alden, and Bucky. Van Eps was born into a musical family. His father Fred, a master of the ragtime banjo, and sound engineer, was his grandfather, while his mother, Bobby, Freddy and John were professional musicians. Van Eps was self-taught to play the banjo at the age of 11. Two years later, he fell under the influence Eddie Lang and learned enough to play the guitar for six months with Lang as a teenager. Van Eps began his career with Freddy Martin (1931-1933), Benny Goodman (1934-1935) and Ray Noble (1935-1936). He then moved to Hollywood to become a musician freelancer, author of a book on how to guitar, and designer. Van Eps returned to Noble in 1940-1941 and worked in his father’s studio recording for two years. He then moved to Hollywood to become a freelance musician, author of a how-to guitar book, and participated in the 1950s TV and film series Pete Kelly’s Blues. Van Eps made only a few recordings as a soloist or leader, such as Mellow Guitar (Columbia 1956), My Guitar, George Van Eps Seven-String Guitar, and Soliloquy in the late 1960s for Capitol. His activities were cut down by a serious illness in his early 1970s and a hand injury in 1977 that left him with three broken fingers. Van Eps was able to return to the studio for his first of three excellent duo albums for Concord Jazz in 1991 with Howard Alden, his former student. They mixed venerable standards and some Van Eps originals. He also shared a solo album with Johnny Smith in 1994. He was a shrewd exponent of modern swing even in his 80s. George Van Eps passed away from pneumonia on November 29, 1998.
