We should all be very familiar with this great picture.
and also this one.
But before I dive into the subject matter of the title of this post, I would like to share an amazing observation of the picture directly above. That piano player. Who does it look like? If you look closely, it's Frank P. Banta! Really take a look! Here's a picture for reference:
(from 1900)
It's the same pianist! It's also surely Banta because the picture was said to have been taken in 1902, which would have the dates line up perfectly.
Now. On for the actual subject of this post. I just listened to a record I haven't heard since I met with my good friend Craig well over a year ago. It's a wonderful record really, even if it's just one of those many Collins and Harlan records
(Collins and Harlan c.1919)
They made hundreds of records, but I have always come to the conclusion that their records from pre-1910 are the best out there. After that, they just ever so slowly went downhill in popularity. Their records from the first three years of their partnership are particularly the best, and this timeframe would be 1902 to 1906. So, in saying all of this, here's the record I was talking about, recorded by Collins and Harlan in c. late-1903 or early 1904:
I think we all know who's on that piano.
Old Freddy Hylands.
Hmm...Collins and Harlan, AND Hylands, there's the "Half-Ton Duo"then ya got another "half" behind 'em!
He's not sitting at the same piano on this record though. But one thing that is so captivating about Hylands on this one is how well the bass notes on the piano were recorded, and how prominently they got caught on the actual record. The minor section at the beginning is so laggy and darkly emotional! Piano was a very hard instrument to record correctly in the late-90's and early 1900's, but a few records here and there truly catch the mastery of the great pianists behind the singers. The particularly hard part about balancing the piano was the bass notes. They either were too low for the record to hear it, or they sounded awful. So from the first picture in the post, you can actually see how Columbia balanced their lumbering and forceful pianist, on their already mediocre sounding pianos(fun fact: Columbia had two of them!).
Here's another one(that I have used before) representing a clear recording of the piano(well, with Hylands at Columbia anyway):
The point that I'm making here is at the last section of the song where Mr. Dudley had his whistling solo, for about thirty seconds at the end. That improvisation from 2:22 to 2:28, there! That's where you can hear the deep D flat octave! It's just barely audible, but you can hear the deep resonating note, even if you're not really paying full attention to the piano. Minus that thirty seconds of pure Rag-Time, the whole record is a Rag-Time masterpiece on Hylands' part(not so much for Dudley...)
(Dudley in 1896)
Now, this next example is a bit of a mystery to me. And I need some help identifying the record company of it, so I can get a better idea of who the pianist is. It looks like it might be a VERY clean brown wax cylinder, and it has very LOUD and strong piano accompaniment, leading me think more towards Hylands, but the announcement sounds a little like an Edison(even though it sounds like it may or may not be Schweinfest himself). Anyhow, listen for those clearly audible deep octaves, and the sound of the recording room(which also sounds like Columbia):
Even if this was recorded on a phonograph, the octaves and recording room are clear as a bell on this amazing cylinder. That little thing at 1:12 to 1:16! Hear those two handed octaves, and how quick they go along. The tempo changes also get me leaning more towards Hylands on this.
Now, for some Banta, I have also shared this one before, but this one is so clear, that the very deep notes of the piano can easily be heard:
It's Dan Quinn again!
(Quinn in 1900)
With his trusty pianist at Edison Frank P. Banta! This cylinder is a classic example of Banta's piano playing, even if he's not exactly playing Rag-Time, he's just on the verge of it. Banta's still playing very well behind Quinn, and those deep octaves are clearly audible. Edison's piano was not recorded the same way as Columbia, and later Victor's. Clearly by the pictures previously in this post of Columbia's and Edison's recording studios, Columbia had a less-than-reasonable looking way of recording their piano(well, durr...they had Hylands to deal with...), and Edison had a much more manageable way of this, it was a much easier set up for the artists to talk with the pianist between takes, if something needed to be changed, or a new piece was handed to them. This was clearly different with Columbia' piano, the artists had to climb up there to Hylands, or just yell from where they were to communicate with him. With all of these problems recording the early pianos, they still managed to get a good sound out of it, whether is be Rag-Time playing, or straight Classical, those pianist are still heard to-day.
I hope you enjoyed this!
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