George Gershwin: His Life and Music [Illustrated] [Paperback] Review

"This young fellow has the spark of musical genius, which is definite in his serious moods, he has the fire of originality. I really believe that America will at no distant date honor him for his talent and that when we speak of American composers, George Gershwin's name will be prominent on our list." ~ Beryl Rubenstein, concert pianist and faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music, from an interview in 1922 ~

This book, "George Gershwin: His Life & Music" by Ean Wood is one of the most interesting and informative books ever written about the composer's musical career as well as his short but so remarkable life. This book gives details about his family, his first job as a pianist/song plugger at Jerome H Remick & Co., his life in the entertainment world, his most notable Broadway shows, and his most famous masterpiece and an excellent work of art, "Rhapsody In Blue," which he composed in ten days.

It has been noted that Jerome Kern was the one who inspired George Gershwin to switch from pop songs to Broadway musicals. Irving Berlin, a brilliant songwriter himself was also an inspiration to Gershwin, who was born with two supreme gifts - the ability to write memorable tunes and an instinct for setting them with rich and unexpected harmonies.

Gershwin's success as a composer comes from his being passionate about music, his obsessive drive to create music, his swift musical development, his keen listening habits, his love of piano playing, his love for classical concerts, his continuous search for musical knowledge, his love of listening to music of every genre, and most of all his excellent musical instinct. He was revered and adored by his music teacher, Charles Hambitzer, who described him as a musical genius, without a doubt.

"George Gershwin made the piano do things for him ... not only he played what was written, he was improvising all the time. He could make the piano laugh, make it sad, he loved the keys, he loved to experiment. He was original." ~ Mabel Pleshette, friend ~

What I admired most about Gershwin apart from his wonderful music is his love of painting. His art mentor was his cousin, Henry Botkin, a respected painter and art connoisseur who gave him advice in choosing paintings. Gershwin had an incredible collection of modern art in America. Some of his favorite painters are also my very own favorites, i.e. Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso. He had tried his creative hands on painting and portraiture was always his specialty. Somebody had told Gershwin at a dinner party that "he never needs to write another note, because he could make a fortune with his palette and brush." One lady asked him: "Isn't it amazing that one man should possess a genius for two of the arts?" But to him, painting is more a mere pastime. Writing music was his first and foremost love.

He was also portrayed as someone who "in many ways led a spartan existence." He rarely drank and smoked cigars in moderation. He was like an athlete and had always liked to keep fit. The permanent fixtures in his apartment were a small gym, a punch ball, a rowing machine and a dartboard. Not to mention of course a small silver upright piano that was a gift to him.

Gershwin's circle of close friends includes writers, composers and lyricists like Vernon Duke, Arthur Kober and Howard Dietz. They were called the "Paley Salon." They meet regularly every Sunday for a dinner at Gershwin's apartment and discussed art and music. Oscar Levant, whose hero was Gershwin, also became a prominent member of the "Paley Salon." He also recorded "Rhapsody In Blue" so beautifully and he put his heart completely to it and giving it a whole range of feelings. When the record was released, he waited for a feedback from Gershwin and when he didn't hear from him, he took the initiative to call him. Gershwin asked him to bring the record for him to listen to and after listening to it, the verdict was, "I like mine better."

"No man can be great unless he loves music."~ Max Levant (father) as told to Oscar Levant (son) ~

Although Gershwin died young at the age of 38, he made an incredible mark in the history of audio visual arts - writing good music and painting. After his death, 37 of his original paintings were exhibited at a one-man-show at the Harriman Gallery in New York, as one of his wishes. He had written over 1,000 songs for theatre and motion pictures and about 40 musical comedy scores. His music is timeless and will be heard and appreciated by every generation.

This is one of the best ever biographies I've read and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

"George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937, but I don't have to believe it if I don't want to."~ John O'Hara ~

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Product Description:
The story of arguable America's most famous composer.

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Gershwin [Paperback] Review

This is pretty dreary read. It records an immense amount of information but doesn't deliver a picture of the man. Stil, there's a lot of value here -- particularly with the supplemental material on Ira after George's death, the list of the Gershwin brothers' collaborations, and a thoughtful discography.

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Goodbye: In Search Of Gordon Jenkins [Hardcover] Review

. . . is what I told the author by e-mail:

Dear Mr. Jenkins,

I just finished Goodbye, and I wanted you to know how glad I am you wrote it. I got it through Rick Apt; it is a copy you signed.

I love your father's music and have for a long time, but I had little idea just how comprehensive his talent was. Your book deepened my admiration for his work. I'll appreciate it even more now.

As someone who makes a living as an editor, I have pretty high
standards. Your writing is clear, your passion is evident, your style is rewarding on many levels, and the book is whole: nothing need be added or taken away, as I see it.

Beyond that, as a dilettante baritone in a few big band style ensembles, I've got a new, higher standard to shoot for just knowing what a man like Gordon Jenkins expected of others. And when I sing a ballad, I'll damn sure never trust a leader who keeps his eye on the band instead of me.

Thank you for writing a great book about a great man.

Yours truly,

Bill Fisher

(By the way, the author was gracious enough to reply to my e-mail--a class act.)

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Cats of Any Color: Jazz, Black and White [Paperback] Review

Gene Lees strikes me as one of the more level-headed individuals in jazz. Like it or not, the hard-core jazzword is these days filled with elitists, racists (mostly reverse thesedays), and people protecting their "territory."When I see the doings andhear the rantings of the likes of Stanley Crouch and other pretentious writers and "social critics," I am reminded of the character ofMax Mercy from Bernard Malamud's novel (and the movie) The Natural...Mercyisn't interested in baseball and has never played a game, but stirring upcontroversy using baseball as his medium keeps him in the spotlight andmakes him rich.Crouch is much the same way--would any of us have heard ofhim, would he have a tenth of his current income and notoriety were he notclutching the coattails of a currently well-known jazz musician?Lees'discussion of Crouch, of other figures in jazz history, and his inside stories about the jazz world and the psyches within it are like a bucket of cold water to most of what passes for jazz scholarship today.But don't get the impression this is a kiss-and-tell book, or something scandalous.Mr. Lees is actually a rather level headedindividual.A must read for anyone not in any "camp" ordefending any "turf" but who just loves music and musicians and realizes that jazz, like any art, is a mixture and mixing that quickly becomes so intricate it's impossible for any one group to claim they "own" it.Too bad there are only two other reviews of this book on Amazon's page as of this writing.I can see people would rather believe the hypola histories instead.Too bad...

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