Two Bantas

I know I have mentioned Frank P. Banta quite a lot on this blog, and sometimes Frank E. Banta. his son, and I saaw fit to do a post on both of them, and their styles. Followers of this blog know of father Banta, Frank P.

There he is, around 1901. He was that little slim German boy working under the snotty nose of Thomas Edison and his phonograph empire. According to many accounts of the time period, Banta worked for several other record companies however, such as a minor substitute for Columbia(before Hylands, so around 1894-95 would be about right). We are not generally presented with very much evidence that Banta worked for Victor, but it's pretty obvious that he did from some very small details of recorded material. The older Banta had a style that was related and sounded closely like pieces of classical music that he would have learned.  He also hinted at composers of his day, such as Dvorak and Edvard Grieg, as I'm sure he would have taken some time to study their works. As his arrangement of "Violets" from 1903 sounds like a mixture of several contemporary composers of the day:
http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/mp3s/6000/6475/cusb-cyl6475d.mp3
Such a beautiful piece of music. Banta really takes it to another level with his arrangement. It's the only surviving example of Banta's solo playing(0ther than a recording of "Hello Ma Baby" on Victor A-402 from 1900). Banta's death struck the Edison staff, and all recording artists in general. It's been said that all the Edison artists did not come to work for three days after hearing of his death. As this can be read in the January, 1904 issue of The Edison Phonograph Monthly here:

Yep, that's about right. I like the fact that they even said that it was overworking that killed him, and it was overworking for Edison that killed him. How ironic! The sad thing is that all they said is true, and it was about time they faced it, as this was written over a month after Banta actually died. When he died, he left a wife and two children, a daughter, Prudence, and a son, Frank Edgar. His son Frank Edgar followed the same path of his father, as when he was a baby and toddler, he remembered his father vaguely, sitting at the piano in their house, inviting his friends over and practicing for hours on end, sometimes during the evenings and nights. Little Frank Edgar was only 7 years old when his father died, so he didn't really get to learn how to play things like his father or things similar to it. This is why he sounded almost nothing like his father when he played. He can be heard in the same sort of way his father was here with Fred Van Eps. 
I think it's so odd that Ossman had the father Bantaas his pianist, and Ossman's later rival and predecessor Fred Van Eps had the younger Banta as his pianist. It's so odd, but then again, it's not that surprising. In the link above, I have the feeling that when Van Eps gets to the "Turkey in the Straw" part of the medley, that he's trying to imitate his father's piano style a little bit, but when I say that, it's VERY slight. Most of what Frank Edgar played was what he was doing, with his novelty ways. Just for the hell of it, compare it with Frank P. and Billy Golden's 1898 cylinder here.
See my point? It's very hard to pick out easily. 

There he is, Frank Edgar Banta, around 1916.
It's odd, he didn't look like his father nearly as much as he could have. His mother must have been Irish, as I see quite a lot of Irish features from him, as his father was very Germanic. He didn't get the big eyes, crooked mouth, very rounded forehead, slightly protruding ears, BUT, he DID get his father's eyebrows. Take a look! It's odd isn't it. Frank Edgar was one of the Gershwin generation, and to what many have said, he even played like Gershwin a little bit. He, being a prominent Victor artist, got involved with the Eight Victor artists in 1920 or so, after Ossman, Collins and Harlan were kicked out, in came the pride of the Bantas, Frank Edgar. He was perfect for them, and they all loved him, as his style was not at all cliche and boring. He can be heard here in 1927 playing a popular 20's number. Not at all was his playing boring or outdated. 
I do wonder sometimes what his playing style would have sounded like if his father had lived longer, if it would be any more like his father's, which it probably would be if this was so. He probably never lost the thought of his father whenever he played, as that was what kept him playing for all those years. It would be like thinking if Hylands had any children, as that kid of his would have been a real peach, some piano genius like the two Banta's, except that it'd be a redheaded piano freak, just like Hylands, but he's probably be careless of the child anyhow. 
Frank Edgar made dozens and dozens of piano rolls from 1917 to the late 20's, so his unique playing style is preserved in several ways rather than just recordings. Unfortunately for Frank P. we only have his hundreds of recordings, and only a handful of published pieces of music. Both Bantas deserve recognition for all Rag-Timers and Jazz nerds alike. 

I hope you enjoyed this!