When I got my first CD player, sometime around 1986, I started to branch out a bit, musically speaking. Partly that was because, at first, there was more classical music on CD, and partly because I wanted to learn about classical music. I also started listening to a lot of pre-rock stuff. I quickly got hooked on all things George Gershwin-in my opinion the greatest American songwriter/composer of the 20th century, who was lucky enough to have a brother who was among the greatest lyricists.
Rhapsody in Blue was one of the first Gershwin compositions I picked up. Is it classical, or jazz? Whatever it is, it’s great, and far and away more of a joy to listen to than any other classical piece (if that’s what it is) composed in the last 100 years. This video is a movie by one Adrian Marthaler, made in 1981. Seems to me he catches the mood pretty well. The piece is about 16 minutes long, longer than youtube allows, so it’s in two segments. A big investment of your time, but give it a shot if you’ve never heard it. It’s truly wonderful music.
That being the meal, assuming you’ve got this far, here’s some Gershwin dessert. Ella Fitzgerald singing Summertime
and the man himself performing I’ve Got Rhythm
Tomorrow, back to blogging. Depending on your point of view, that’s either a promise or a threat.
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