George Van Eps / Джордж Ван Эпс
With his mellow, well-rounded tone, this New Jersey-born guitarist was first drawn to the banjo as a youngster, but after hearing Eddie Lang playing with big bands, switched to the guitar. He made his radio debut at 13 and then, in the 30s, as his notoriety gained momentum, he played in several big bands, including Bennie Goodman’s. Van Eps designed his own seven-string guitar, which added lower bass notes and allowed him to develop his own finger-picking style.