Much of what I have said about all of those earliest studio accompanists on this blog are things that come directly from the recordings, and are based on their backgrounds, and more than half the time, these unfortunate artists are never mentioned in catalogs. It really is like untangling a huge ball of string, that will perhaps never be untangled completely. How frustrating this whole thing is... I cannot best express how much of a headache this entire studio pianist venture has become, and Columbia's lost/destroyed ledgers really don't help at all in this. Sigh...
I have been advised to try and put together a list of four recordings for each of these pianists' styles, and I ought to think that the easiest and clearest place to start would be proving the studio term of Frank P. Banta.
This picture came from an obituary of Banta in a newspaper from 1903.
Banta at Edison's studio piano in 1902.
The only reason that Banta is easier to pinpoint as a definite studio pianist is because he was mentioned later by many studio stars as an accompanist, and also that he was famous for his transcribed solo of "Violets". It also helps that he was in that picture of the 42 Edison recording stars from 1900:
here's a closeup of Banta:
No. 35 he is. Love that look on his face!
Now that in itself secures the fact that Banta worked for Edison, seeing him in that picture has higher advantages than a catalog(it helps that he was very distinct-looking in this case...).
Now as for identifying his style, which is the hard part.
Banta's musical background has been debated over the last eighty or so years, and even back in the era in which he lived there were conflicting statements, and misleading connotations. One source(one of those who worked with Banta), claimed that he was self-taught and learned from a very young age. Whereas another source stated that he was very well-taught and learned theory, tuning, and sight-reading. One thing is true however from these claims, Banta had perfect pitch, and was able to play anything be ear, as several sources, including Dan Quinn's Walsh letters, stated that he was able to play something right off the spot if someone threw a title at him, as long as he had heard the song before(which, being a studio pianist, he certainly would have).To give Quinn's letters more credibility, he named his youngest son after Banta, and he worked with Banta the most at Edison in 1899-1902, from that, he certainly recalled those times with Banta fondly and full of detail. Banta was mentioned in a handful of catalogs from 1899 to 1903, since he made a few piano solos in that time, one being "Hello Ma Baby", and another being "Violets", though sadly, the latter was much more popular and common. That is very helpful in trying to figure out Banta's recording activity.
Picking four recordings that illustrate Banta's style are hard to some extent, as he was reported to be on a few labels, and was liked by many recording stars, so he's behind many studio stars. It's not at all biased with Banta, unlike Hylands at some points...
The first one that I have here is 1901 Edison cylinder with Arthur Collins. It's a recording that has caused some buzz in the record collecting community for the Rag-Time piano accompaniment so early on. Here's "Lam Lam Lam" by Arthur Collins. It's a rather early example of Rag-Time, still with all sorts of tricks that were lost as the Rag-Time era went forth. The one trait in this piano accompaniment that really is distinct is that rollicking and rhythmically even improvisations in the right hand, also the choice of chords in the left hand rhythm. There are also some strange rolled octaves that can be heard at about 2:06 that was distinct about many Victors(that Banta also worked for, according to some of their ledgers). The improvisations are very easy to understand and are not out of the rhythm at all, unlike some Columbia's from the same time period.
The next recording is Silas Leachman's famous recording of Ben Harney's "Mr. Johnson Turn Me Loose" form 1901. This is not only a fantastic early recording of Rag-Time, but it's also one of the best examples of Banta's Rag-Time style. It has pretty much everything that was distinct about those Edison cylinders, the gradual speeding up, improvisations free of mistakes, steady kept time, and the ending chord with the fifth. One item that came along with Banta's Rag-Time was a more "dotted" syncopation, which, if you know anything about music theory, means that it's very slightly syncopated and at times sounds a bit stiff and old-fashioned. It makes sense that this is so according to Banta's obviously trained background, and the fact that he grew up in New York, not anywhere in the midwest or far out in the Western states.
This next one is an earlier example of Banta's style, which is still comparable to the other two above, even though the style is much more "dotted" and old-fashioned, yet still syncopated to some extent. Here's Billy Golden's 1897 Edison take of "Turkey in the Straw". It's a much more old-fashioned sound, but it's also got Ragged playing in there, which is dotted and stiff much like the playing on the other examples above, also, there are also some hidden and hard-to hear fifths in there, including one at 1:32-33, and also are audible occasionally throughout. Also, the record is ended with that same fifth and chord that the others had. This take is almost identical to Golden's 1903 re-recording of this on Edison as well.
The last one I have in my immediate reach at the moment is a recording with Will F. Denny on Edison. Here's Denny's "Go 'Way Back and Sit Down" from 1901. This recording is also a great piece of Rag-Time by in many respects, and it has many of those lost traits that were on the recording of "Mister Johnson Turn Me Loose", some of those fifths, and stiffness. Banta was able to play pretty loosely by 1902 and 1903(take the later recording of "Medley of Coon Songs" with Golden for example), but earlier on, was getting used to the Rag-Time feel, though he really did have it in him, as we can hear recordings like these listed here that are great pieces of Rag-Time regardless of the stiffness. The stiffness could not easily be noticed by someone not really listening closely, as it's pretty easy to miss most of the time.
The fifths paired with "dotted" syncopation are really what distinguish Banta's playing, and they are not just heard on Edison's, as he's in that picture for proof, they are also heard on many Victors from the same time as well. There are other recordings made for Edison and Victor that would be good examples, but these main four are what I will stick with for now. This style would definitely suit Banta for his background, regardless of the fact that he was trained or not, it fits him for the place that he grew up, and that he came into the Rag-Time fad later, he was no pioneer in this matter, even if he worked with Vess Ossman before he was a regular recording artist.
Now for Fred. Hylands.
Hylands posed with the Columbia orchestra, at the piano in Columbia's "big room" in mid-1898.
Hylands in Columbia's exhibition room in August-September 1898.
Hylands is still a controversial figure with pianist identification, as I still haven't been able to prove myself of my theory that Hylands was at Columbia for longer than just the entirety of 1898. It's hard to know about Hylands, as the only suspicion that got my interest sparked in him was the amount of times he was mentioned in The Phonoscope, as that's where the two pictures above came from(he's not identified in the first one, but as we can see, it's most certainly the same figure, just one image has him with more stately posture).
This character's background says everything about his style. He's a fascinating character, which is of much contrast to Banta. He was born in Indiana, and raised in Indiana as well. His first instrument was the fiddle, and he began to play the thing at about the age of 10, learning who knows what when be began. It's likely, considering his location, that he was playing old songs from the Appalachians and even precursors to Rag-Time. By age 12, he was beginning to play piano, and learning how to rather quick, possibly being self-taught in reading music. Not long after he began at the piano, his parents took notice of Fred's and Etta's talent, and decided to have them become performers. They traveled around the Fort Wayne area, and occasionally went into northwestern Ohio. By 1887, Fred was working alongside his father at a grocery store/saloon, as well as playing some music there on occasion. In 1893, he and the family moved out to Chicago for the world's fair, and after the fair, they remained there for a few more years. Almost as soon as Fred got there, he was working in local vaudeville houses, and learning the newest underground fad of the "rag", or in those days called "jig-piano". He learned from the best, watching Ben R. Harney play, black professors who came to the fair, and other well-known pianists in the local saloon communities. By 1896, he was becoming known as a "Rag" pianist by playing syncopated music, as his earliest published piece was from 1896 and it already anticipated the big "rag time" fad soon to come with strange melodic improvisations and syncopated rhythms. in early 1897, he was out in New York performing at various theaters on 14th street, and earning his fame as a music director and and authentic "rag time" professor from Chicago. it took until the middle of 1897 for local record companies to decide that they needed a new pianist, in this case, especially Columbia.
Around September 1897, Hylands was beginning to be used as a substitute pianist in their studio, as by the end of 1897, much more often very ragged and "hot" playing can be heard on their records, in a style that is the polar opposite to the pianists there before.
Picking four recordings with the style described in the section above is a little more complicated than picking some for Banta's style, because there are many more examples of the unique style from late-1897 to as late as 1905.
The first example is a record by George W. Johnson from early or mid 1898. It has one of the most ragged accompaniments I have ever heard on any brown wax cylinder, and it has some even more strange distinctions adding on to the uniform syncopation. Here's one of Johnson's many takes of "The Laughing Song" from 1898. The playing on this very unique, and it's very much different in feel and syncopation style than the previous style exhibited, and it sounds much more natural and not stiff at all, unlike the last ones. It's got many distinctly characteristics, such as the syncopation pattern throughout the record, and at the very end, also the bass pattern in the solo after the first chorus, which is something I have only heard on Columbia records. The main thing to take away from the style on this is that there is not only heavily syncopated improvisations here, but also the one quick bass thing at 0:59-1:00 or so, that little attribute is very important to this style.
This next one is a popular take by Billy Golden from 1899, a year after the last one. Here's Billy Golden's 1899 take of "Turkey in the Straw". Now the first thing to be said here is that it's a dramatic contrast to the 1897 take of this by Golden on Edison. The first thing to note is that same syncopation that was on the last one, the same natural "feel", and those bass patterns(and lots of them...). This record most certainly has the same pianist on it as the last one, and they were recorded pretty far away from each other date wise. Another important attribute to this style is the walking broken octaves, which is very strange to hear, but was played often in this style heard on Columbia records from this time. Those walking bass octaves are heard several times on this Golden recording. That ending pattern is also something that is heard only on Columbia's, as it can be heard at the end of this 1903 record here, and the walking bass octaves can be heard at about 1:08 on this 1905 record here. All of these are also in that same style, just configured a little differently, but with the same distinctions.
This next recording is a fantastic rarity by J. R. Johnson and Bob Cole, who were members of the "Frogs" Club, which included Jim Europe, Bert Williams, and George Walker. This one is actually two takes recorded on the same day in 1902. Here's one of the takes, and then for the other one. There are so many strange things in the piano accompaniment on these records, but most of the same attributes from earlier are present on these takes. One thing that is heard often on both of these takes that I did not mention is the swift trills of thirty-second notes in the intro and in the first verse. This attribute was also part of this style that was on Columbia records, you might have already heard it on the records just above, as every one of these records has it somewhere, such as this Cal Stewart rarity from 1905(it's the fourth thing listed on the page). This Collins record shows off all of the walking bass octaves that could fit in every place, much like this 1899 record here(music begins at 6 minutes...). The mix of "dotted" notes with very syncopated notes is also part of this style as well, and these two Collins takes exhibit it in perfect harmony.
This final one is actually a Zon-O-phone from early 1903, also by Collins. Here's his Zon-O-phone of "Bill Bailey". This record almost exhibits every thing that was explained in the records above, but it gets one aspect across that very few of these other ones did. This one shows off the "feel" that I mean better than any of these records so far. This record exhibits many Columbia pianist specific traits, especially the syncopation, which is pretty much identical rhythmically to that of this 1898 cylinder here, and also at the solos on this 1901 record here, as well as most of the other records in this section listed. That quick run of right hand octaves beginning at the second chorus at 1:30 is also the same thing as some of the improvisations on this 1902 record here.
You may have noticed that I did not at all use Hylands' name in any of these examples and explanations. The only reason I did that is to save all of that for this section of the evidence. I now have to tie the style to Hylands in a logistical way. Do all of these attributes match the background that Hylands had?
Yes.
Why? Well, if you know anything about how the earliest published rags were written, you might have noticed that all of the composers of these tunes came from Chicago for the most part, Kentucky, Ohio, or Indiana.
Just for full proof of the similarity, here are some examples:
Max Hoffman's "Rag Medley" of 1897
Ben Harney's "Mister Johnson Turn Me Loose" from 1896
Max Hoffman's "Ragtown Rags" from 1898
I know this is a lot later, but it's from rural Indiana, and it's in the same style, "The Stop Rag" from 1913.
Theodore Northrup's "Louisiana Rag" from 1896(published in Chicago in 1897)
Robert S. Roberts' "A Bundle of Rags" from 1897(published in Ohio!)
(this one even has the rare added bonus of left hand melodies like from the records!)
Robert S. Roberts' "Pride of Bucktown" from 1897
even really early Rag pieces exhibit this style to a high extent, such as:
Carl Lexhoizt's "The Ebony Funeral" from 1894
and even
F. Neddermeyer's "Opelika Cake Walk" from 1892
All of these published Rags exhibit much of the style that I spoke of above, and with the background Hylands had, that style would almost certainly be his. If you're looking for a published composer of early rags that has a writing style the most similar to Hylands' style, Max Hoffman is one, Ben Harney is another and actually, Robert S. Roberts is the closest to Hylands' style as far as I have come with this. His "Bundle of Rags" is very very accurate to Hylands' style on late-1890's Columbia records. This style of Rags did not last very far into the 20th century sadly, as by 1905-1906(with a few exceptions like "Pickles and Peppers" and others) that very syncopated and playful style began to fade, and didn't last throughout the rest of the Rag-Time era.
To many scholars I have spoken with, this style of playing(Banta's and especially Hylands') is a much more real representation of Rag-Time, and what it was actually supposed to sound like. You may disagree with me you Joplin lovers, but only Joplin's early works were in this style in any sort of way, but as time went onward, that began to fade away from his compositions.
I will soon do a post on Edward Issler's style and Gaisberg's as well, but I will have to do more studying of their playing and backgrounds in order for that to happen...
This next one is an earlier example of Banta's style, which is still comparable to the other two above, even though the style is much more "dotted" and old-fashioned, yet still syncopated to some extent. Here's Billy Golden's 1897 Edison take of "Turkey in the Straw". It's a much more old-fashioned sound, but it's also got Ragged playing in there, which is dotted and stiff much like the playing on the other examples above, also, there are also some hidden and hard-to hear fifths in there, including one at 1:32-33, and also are audible occasionally throughout. Also, the record is ended with that same fifth and chord that the others had. This take is almost identical to Golden's 1903 re-recording of this on Edison as well.
The last one I have in my immediate reach at the moment is a recording with Will F. Denny on Edison. Here's Denny's "Go 'Way Back and Sit Down" from 1901. This recording is also a great piece of Rag-Time by in many respects, and it has many of those lost traits that were on the recording of "Mister Johnson Turn Me Loose", some of those fifths, and stiffness. Banta was able to play pretty loosely by 1902 and 1903(take the later recording of "Medley of Coon Songs" with Golden for example), but earlier on, was getting used to the Rag-Time feel, though he really did have it in him, as we can hear recordings like these listed here that are great pieces of Rag-Time regardless of the stiffness. The stiffness could not easily be noticed by someone not really listening closely, as it's pretty easy to miss most of the time.
The fifths paired with "dotted" syncopation are really what distinguish Banta's playing, and they are not just heard on Edison's, as he's in that picture for proof, they are also heard on many Victors from the same time as well. There are other recordings made for Edison and Victor that would be good examples, but these main four are what I will stick with for now. This style would definitely suit Banta for his background, regardless of the fact that he was trained or not, it fits him for the place that he grew up, and that he came into the Rag-Time fad later, he was no pioneer in this matter, even if he worked with Vess Ossman before he was a regular recording artist.
Now for Fred. Hylands.
Hylands is still a controversial figure with pianist identification, as I still haven't been able to prove myself of my theory that Hylands was at Columbia for longer than just the entirety of 1898. It's hard to know about Hylands, as the only suspicion that got my interest sparked in him was the amount of times he was mentioned in The Phonoscope, as that's where the two pictures above came from(he's not identified in the first one, but as we can see, it's most certainly the same figure, just one image has him with more stately posture).
This character's background says everything about his style. He's a fascinating character, which is of much contrast to Banta. He was born in Indiana, and raised in Indiana as well. His first instrument was the fiddle, and he began to play the thing at about the age of 10, learning who knows what when be began. It's likely, considering his location, that he was playing old songs from the Appalachians and even precursors to Rag-Time. By age 12, he was beginning to play piano, and learning how to rather quick, possibly being self-taught in reading music. Not long after he began at the piano, his parents took notice of Fred's and Etta's talent, and decided to have them become performers. They traveled around the Fort Wayne area, and occasionally went into northwestern Ohio. By 1887, Fred was working alongside his father at a grocery store/saloon, as well as playing some music there on occasion. In 1893, he and the family moved out to Chicago for the world's fair, and after the fair, they remained there for a few more years. Almost as soon as Fred got there, he was working in local vaudeville houses, and learning the newest underground fad of the "rag", or in those days called "jig-piano". He learned from the best, watching Ben R. Harney play, black professors who came to the fair, and other well-known pianists in the local saloon communities. By 1896, he was becoming known as a "Rag" pianist by playing syncopated music, as his earliest published piece was from 1896 and it already anticipated the big "rag time" fad soon to come with strange melodic improvisations and syncopated rhythms. in early 1897, he was out in New York performing at various theaters on 14th street, and earning his fame as a music director and and authentic "rag time" professor from Chicago. it took until the middle of 1897 for local record companies to decide that they needed a new pianist, in this case, especially Columbia.
Around September 1897, Hylands was beginning to be used as a substitute pianist in their studio, as by the end of 1897, much more often very ragged and "hot" playing can be heard on their records, in a style that is the polar opposite to the pianists there before.
Picking four recordings with the style described in the section above is a little more complicated than picking some for Banta's style, because there are many more examples of the unique style from late-1897 to as late as 1905.
The first example is a record by George W. Johnson from early or mid 1898. It has one of the most ragged accompaniments I have ever heard on any brown wax cylinder, and it has some even more strange distinctions adding on to the uniform syncopation. Here's one of Johnson's many takes of "The Laughing Song" from 1898. The playing on this very unique, and it's very much different in feel and syncopation style than the previous style exhibited, and it sounds much more natural and not stiff at all, unlike the last ones. It's got many distinctly characteristics, such as the syncopation pattern throughout the record, and at the very end, also the bass pattern in the solo after the first chorus, which is something I have only heard on Columbia records. The main thing to take away from the style on this is that there is not only heavily syncopated improvisations here, but also the one quick bass thing at 0:59-1:00 or so, that little attribute is very important to this style.
This next one is a popular take by Billy Golden from 1899, a year after the last one. Here's Billy Golden's 1899 take of "Turkey in the Straw". Now the first thing to be said here is that it's a dramatic contrast to the 1897 take of this by Golden on Edison. The first thing to note is that same syncopation that was on the last one, the same natural "feel", and those bass patterns(and lots of them...). This record most certainly has the same pianist on it as the last one, and they were recorded pretty far away from each other date wise. Another important attribute to this style is the walking broken octaves, which is very strange to hear, but was played often in this style heard on Columbia records from this time. Those walking bass octaves are heard several times on this Golden recording. That ending pattern is also something that is heard only on Columbia's, as it can be heard at the end of this 1903 record here, and the walking bass octaves can be heard at about 1:08 on this 1905 record here. All of these are also in that same style, just configured a little differently, but with the same distinctions.
This next recording is a fantastic rarity by J. R. Johnson and Bob Cole, who were members of the "Frogs" Club, which included Jim Europe, Bert Williams, and George Walker. This one is actually two takes recorded on the same day in 1902. Here's one of the takes, and then for the other one. There are so many strange things in the piano accompaniment on these records, but most of the same attributes from earlier are present on these takes. One thing that is heard often on both of these takes that I did not mention is the swift trills of thirty-second notes in the intro and in the first verse. This attribute was also part of this style that was on Columbia records, you might have already heard it on the records just above, as every one of these records has it somewhere, such as this Cal Stewart rarity from 1905(it's the fourth thing listed on the page). This Collins record shows off all of the walking bass octaves that could fit in every place, much like this 1899 record here(music begins at 6 minutes...). The mix of "dotted" notes with very syncopated notes is also part of this style as well, and these two Collins takes exhibit it in perfect harmony.
This final one is actually a Zon-O-phone from early 1903, also by Collins. Here's his Zon-O-phone of "Bill Bailey". This record almost exhibits every thing that was explained in the records above, but it gets one aspect across that very few of these other ones did. This one shows off the "feel" that I mean better than any of these records so far. This record exhibits many Columbia pianist specific traits, especially the syncopation, which is pretty much identical rhythmically to that of this 1898 cylinder here, and also at the solos on this 1901 record here, as well as most of the other records in this section listed. That quick run of right hand octaves beginning at the second chorus at 1:30 is also the same thing as some of the improvisations on this 1902 record here.
You may have noticed that I did not at all use Hylands' name in any of these examples and explanations. The only reason I did that is to save all of that for this section of the evidence. I now have to tie the style to Hylands in a logistical way. Do all of these attributes match the background that Hylands had?
Yes.
Why? Well, if you know anything about how the earliest published rags were written, you might have noticed that all of the composers of these tunes came from Chicago for the most part, Kentucky, Ohio, or Indiana.
Just for full proof of the similarity, here are some examples:
Max Hoffman's "Rag Medley" of 1897
Ben Harney's "Mister Johnson Turn Me Loose" from 1896
Max Hoffman's "Ragtown Rags" from 1898
I know this is a lot later, but it's from rural Indiana, and it's in the same style, "The Stop Rag" from 1913.
Theodore Northrup's "Louisiana Rag" from 1896(published in Chicago in 1897)
Robert S. Roberts' "A Bundle of Rags" from 1897(published in Ohio!)
(this one even has the rare added bonus of left hand melodies like from the records!)
Robert S. Roberts' "Pride of Bucktown" from 1897
even really early Rag pieces exhibit this style to a high extent, such as:
Carl Lexhoizt's "The Ebony Funeral" from 1894
and even
F. Neddermeyer's "Opelika Cake Walk" from 1892
All of these published Rags exhibit much of the style that I spoke of above, and with the background Hylands had, that style would almost certainly be his. If you're looking for a published composer of early rags that has a writing style the most similar to Hylands' style, Max Hoffman is one, Ben Harney is another and actually, Robert S. Roberts is the closest to Hylands' style as far as I have come with this. His "Bundle of Rags" is very very accurate to Hylands' style on late-1890's Columbia records. This style of Rags did not last very far into the 20th century sadly, as by 1905-1906(with a few exceptions like "Pickles and Peppers" and others) that very syncopated and playful style began to fade, and didn't last throughout the rest of the Rag-Time era.
To many scholars I have spoken with, this style of playing(Banta's and especially Hylands') is a much more real representation of Rag-Time, and what it was actually supposed to sound like. You may disagree with me you Joplin lovers, but only Joplin's early works were in this style in any sort of way, but as time went onward, that began to fade away from his compositions.
I will soon do a post on Edward Issler's style and Gaisberg's as well, but I will have to do more studying of their playing and backgrounds in order for that to happen...
Hope you enjoyed this!
