Ernest Stevens piano roll

[estott]

I've just found a player piano roll recorded by Ernest Stevens, mostly known for his Edison records- it's a lively one step and sounds like his playing style. The label is Artempo,probably 1914-1920, the maker was in Newark NJ so he'd have been a local pianist.

[gramophoneshane]

http://www.pianola.co.nz/artists/stevens.html

[Phototone]

Stevens and other popular piano artists who recorded also cut piano rolls including George Gershwin.

[Henry]

Also Scott Joplin, IIRC.

[Lenoirstreetguy]

So Eric, get out that cam and plunk that roll on the Pianola and tread your way through it for us .
JRT

[estott]

Here's a link- I don't know how to embed videos here:
http://youtu.be/JtXJ7Ck3vmw

[OrthoFan]

Here's a link- I don't know how to embed videos here:

You must have a good quality microphone, because the sound quality is very nice.

To embed a video all you have to do is click on the YOUTUBE button. You'll see a pair of brackets appear in your post. Copy and paste the complete URL for your video inside the brackets, starting with HTTP and ending with the number assigned to the video.

(Don't include the "&" sign or anything that follows it -- in other words, don't include the part that says: &feature=youtu.be. )

When you click the Preview or Submit button, you should see the video screen appear in your post:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtXJ7Ck3vmw[/youtube]

HTH,
OF

[estott]

Thanks- it's a Nikon Coolpix, the mic is just the built in one but works pretty well for the purpose- it doesn't aim to be a work of art.

[larryh]

Before I sold the pump aeolian Weber I had lots of piano rolls, Stevens was one of my favorite roll artist. You could always depend on his selections to sound nicely played and interesting.

[hillndalefan]

I had a conversation with Trebor Tichenor about the Stevens rolls recently, and he apparently only made them for Artempo. When he recorded rags [which he did], he used the name Steve Williams. His home was in Montclair, N.J., next door to Orange. Edison used him for his experiments with the 40-foot and 125-foot recording horns between 1921 and 1925. His records on Edison appear under his own name as well as "Franz Falkenberg". I'm not sure, but I think he was also the leader [and arranger] of the "Bellini Ensemble Unique". After the announcement of electrical recording by Victor and Columbia, the 125-foot horn experiments abruptly ended. Ernest L. Stevens' only other Edison disc was made in 1929, after a four year hiatus. Bob Ault