Tag: George Gershwin

Happy 126th Birthday, Paul Whiteman!

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Today marks the 126th birthday of orchestra leader Paul Whiteman. Known as the King of Jazz during his heyday, Whiteman isn’t afforded that level of respect by many in the jazz community today, but his influence is undeniable. His music may have leaned to the pop side a little bit, but in that era, jazz was dance music. It was pop, in a sense, and Whiteman helped to bring the new sounds to a wider audience.

What’s more, the list of immortals who played or sang with Whiteman during his career is a lengthy one, among them Bing Crosby (who during his time with Whiteman was one of the hippest of vocalists), Bix Beiderbecke, Frankie Trumbauer, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, Jack Teagarden, Bunny Berigan, and Ramona Davies (she of the Grand Piano)—names that are very familiar to anyone who listens to Cladrite Radio reguarly.

Whiteman also commissioned George Gershwin to write Rhapsody in Blue, and that influential work’s 1924 debut was performed by an expanded version of Whiteman’s orchestra, with Gershwin himself at the piano.

Whiteman also performed in motion pictures, and it was announced earlier today that the restoration of his own starring vehicle, King of Jazz (1930), is now complete. It will be unveiled in screenings in various spots around the country beginning in May.

No less an authority than Duke Ellington once declared, “Paul Whiteman was known as the King of Jazz, and no one as yet has come near carrying that title with more certainty and dignity,” and that’s good enough for us.

Happy birthday, Pops. We can’t wait to see a pristine new print of your movie in May!

Paul Whiteman

Happy Birthday, George Gershwin!

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We love a Gershwin tune; how about you?

George Gershwin, born 117 years ago today, has long been our favorite composer of the Cladrite Era (though in recent years, Cole Porter’s been making up ground in that horse race). Gershwin’s life was far too short, but he managed to squeeze an amazing number of memorable songs and orchestral works into his 39 years.

Happy birthday, George, and thanks for the tunes!

George Gershwin quote

Happy Birthday, Cole Porter!

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The great Cole Porter was born 124 years ago today in Peru, Indiana. George Gershwin has long been our favorite composer from the Cladrite Era, but we’ve come to appreciate Mr. Porter much more in recent years—so much so that he’s pretty much neck-and-neck with Mr. Gershwin. In any case, there’s certainly room in our world for both (and for so many other great composers of yore).

Here’s to you, Cole, wherever you may be.

Cole Porter quote

Happy 105th to a Suesse Miss!

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A version of this post first ran on this day in 2012.

Dana Suesse, whom we hope is celebrating her 105th birthday today, wherever she may be, was a wonderfully talented composer who might fairly be considered the distaff George Gershwin.

Like Gershwin, she wrote memorably lush tunes that were informed by blues and jazz, and she also crossed over to create orchestral works that reflected the same influences.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Suesse toured vaudeville as a child pianist until she moved with her mother to New York City in 1926. There, she studied piano as she began to make her mark as a composer, writing such hits as “You Ought to Be in Pictures” and “My Silent Love.” Eventually, bandleader Paul Whiteman commissioned her to write “Concerto in Three Rhythms,” much as he asked Gershwin to compose “Rhapsody in Blue.”

For the rest of her life, Suesse would traffic in both popular melodies and orchestral works. She continued to work right up until the time of her death in 1987.

A Gershwin Debut, Revisited

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Did you ever wish you could be there for the first performance of an iconic work—say, the debut of George Gershwin‘s “Rhapsody in Blue” as performed by Paul Whiteman‘s orchestra on February 12, 1924, at NYC’s Aeolian Hall on West 43rd Street?

Well, we don’t have a time machine to lend you, but here’s the next best thing. Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, masters of the sounds of the 1920s and ’30s, are recreating that historic concert in collaboration with conductor Maurice Peress and pianists Ted Rosenthal and Jeb Patten.

Town Hall, which sits on that selfsame block of 43rd Street, is hosting this historic event on February 12th—ninety years to the night after the original concert.

It’s hard to imagine an event that might be considered more of a “don’t-miss.” Get your tickets now!