The little-known but essential Irish influence on one of George Gershwin's greatest compositions... For Sunday Miscellany on RTÉ Radio 1, listen to Rhapsody in Blue – the Irish Connection, by Jim Doherty above.
February 12th is Abraham Lincoln's birthday, and in 1924, one hundred years ago, his memory was celebrated in New York City by a concert of new American music commissioned by Paul Whiteman, the self-styled 'King of Jazz’ (which he was not), and played by his twenty-three-piece orchestra in New York’s Aeolian Hall.
Back in 1924, the leading songwriters were Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and George Gershwin. All except Porter came from the middle-European Jewish diaspora, elements of which can often be heard in their music.
Gershwin, however, stood out from the others in one respect. He was highly impressed and influenced by the music coming from African-American sources, mainly in New Orleans. He was greatly excited by the music of King Oliver, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, and especially the trumpet sensation, Louis Armstrong. Gershwin's ultimate tribute to this tradition came some years later with his opera, Porgy and Bess...
Listen to more from Sunday Miscellany here.
