Le bananier, Op. 5/RO 21, was likely begun in 1848, during Louis Moreau Gottschalk's recovery from typhoid fever at a sanatorium in Clermont-sur-l'Oise run by his friend Dr. Eugene Woillez. If so, this little work wasn't yet complete when Gottschalk returned to Paris at the start of 1849, for Gottschalk didn't begin to program it into his recitals until early December. At a Paris recital given in tandem with the violinist Max Mayer on January 11, 1850, the audience demanded an encore of Le bananier, and with its publication shortly thereafter, "Bananier-mania" broke out in Paris to the extent that it even eclipsed the popularity of Bamboula, Gottschalk's prior success.

Le bananier constitutes the third entry into Gottschalk's so-called "Louisiana Quartet" which began with Bamboula and La savane. It is a much simpler and shorter composition than Bamboula, consisting of variations on a single strain that is contrasted by a short release that is repeated twice, the second time with additional flourishes. Eventually a spray of thirty-second note figures invades the texture, and this figuration develops into long runs that are both tricky to play and impressive to hear. Gottschalk's basic melody is built around minor thirds and harmonized with a drumbeat of open fifths. To American ears this immediately sounds like something based on Native American tribal music, but that may not have been Gottschalk's intention, as the work is designated "Chanson de nègre," and thus is probably based on an African-Caribbean model. Suffice it is that Le bananier proved exotic enough to capture the imagination of a Parisian public already preoccupied with a romantic notion of America, as fueled by the fictional novels of Chateaubriand and Gautier.

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