Some of these ancient records still get me stumped when it comes to the piano accompaniment, as these great hard-working musicians stole things from one another musically all the time, and certain pianists worked with certain performers at specific times. It can really get complicated sometimes. I have put together a bundle of the rare images of these pianists we all hear on the old cylinders:
Albert Benzler
C. H. H. Booth
George Schweinfest
Fred Hylands
They are all familiar to record geeks everywhere. They are oftentimes easy to tell apart on the many records that involve their accompaniment, but there are still some that I am stuck on trying to decipher. I am currently listening to Vess Ossman's "A Bunch of Rags" on a Victor right as I'm writing this, and I am not sure whether to lean toward Banta or Hylands. Yes, I know it's a Victor, but C. H. Booth is for sure not on this one. A lot of the syncopation sounds like Banta, but I hear some Hylands mirth and power in there. Here is the record to actually hear it:
(The record is played too fast on the transfer...)
It's really the Victors that give me trouble. The pianists on Victors were one of three pianists, which doesn't make identifying it any easier.
This one here makes me lean more toward Banta:
I'm still lost, not matter how many times I listen to the Vess Ossman Victors. The other labels all the pianists worked for are easier to spot upon first listening. Ossman's Columbia's and Edison's are much easier to figure out.
As this one(recorded in 1903) is Hylands for sure:
Not only is it a Columbia recorded before 1905, some of Hylands' little trills and other things are presently heard. Ossman DID arrange "A Bunch of Rags" the same year that he left performing around in Vaudeville with Frank P. Banta, to dedicate is energy to Fred Hylands' accompaniment.
As this devotion and connection can be seen on the cover of Hylands' music here from 1898:
This piece mashes together "Yankee Doodle", "Dixie" and G. L. Lansing's "Darkey's Dream" all into one thing. He had written this piece at least by June of 1898, which was 56 months before he self-published it. He must have gotten inspiration from recording Lansing's "Darkey's Dream" with Ossman a few months before here:
Even if be hardly plays the melody of the song at all, he's still really creative and eccentric with what he plays here, again, making it sound a little like Gottschalk.
Now onto some Banta. We all love that stringy "Professor", that was the elder Frank Banta:
Banta was the loyal pianist of Edison's phonograph company, and also the loyal stage pianist of Vess Ossman from 1894 to 1898. Ossman was only one of perhaps hundreds of friends of Banta(which did include Hylands and Burt Green!). He was too frail for the rough and harsh business that he did however, he was built nothing close to Hylands or even George Schweinfest or that matter. He was a short and slim figure, who would let out more than a few nasty hacks throughout the day due to his terrible asthma. He would come in at 7:30 every morning with his music case laden with sheets of all kinds from Rag-Time to classical greats. He would then be under the command of the singers and performers throughout the rest of the long day. At least at Edison they didn't have exhibitions like at Columbia. So Banta got to go home at 6 in the evening. Compared to Hylands' departing time of after midnight. Banta, just like Hylands, was able to incorporate Ragged themes into not very Ragged pieces, such as this one here from 1898:
This piece was recorded countless times for many different recording horns in its day. "Patrol Comique" was a tune that those who were not entirely approving of Rag-Time could play but waned something lively, as the tune was very slightly syncopated and had a fun feel to it, as it was still a product of the 1880's. Banta's particularly good on this one, as he gets the amount of Ragged time just perfect(it's not excessive like Hylands) and he's just perfectly in-sync with Mazziotta's piccolo playing. This cylinder also has a fun announcement by Arthur Collins, just like many Edison brown wax cylinders did.
This next one is a great collaboration between Fred Hylands and his former pianist partner George Schweinfest. This one proves that Hylands was Columbia's pianist thoroughly, as Schweinfest was thought of as Columbia's pianist before all the record geeks looked to Hylands. Schweinfest cannot be on the piano! So who else than Fred Hylands?
Here you go, from 1903-04:
What's great about Hylands(other than his fantastic Rag-Time!) is the fact that he was so laid-back with his steady time that he was oftentimes just enough out-of-sync with the instrumentalist and/or singer to be noticed. He is on the one just above at certain points if you're really keeping the time on it. Here is another where it's much clearer:
Oddly enough, the out-of-sync thing with Hylands was much more common with Xylophone players. This would make some sense. But it was mostly depending upon who the actual artist he was accompanying was. If it was someone he musically agreed with, the accompaniment agreed. If it was someone he either didn't agree with personally or musically, the music sounded likewise. It was an odd amount of logic with these house pianists.
I hope you enjoyed this!
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