George Gershwin (Jacob Gershovitz) 1898

Compositore, pianista e direttore d’orchestra statunitense (Brooklyn, New York, 26.9.1898 – Beverly Hills, California, 11.7.1937). Figlio di immigranti russi e fratello più giovane di Ira, che diventerà l’autore dei testi della maggior parte delle sue canzoni, Gershwin comincia a suonare il piano verso il 1910. A quindici anni è ingaggiato al Tin Pan Alley dall’editore Remick come pianista-dimostratore fino al 1917. Comincia, nel frattempo, a comporre e ottiene, nel 1918, il suo primo contratto con presso Harms. Tra il 1915 e il 1926 farà più di cento rulli per pianoforte. Nel 1919 realizza il suo primo score completo La, La, Lucille. A partire dal 1920 partecipa a cinque George’s White’s Scandals, annuali. In quegli anni, è primo “tuba” con Swanee, registrato da Al Johnson.

Diventa celebre nel 1924 quando Paul Whiteman gli ordina la Rhapsody In Blue che sarà creata all’Aeolian Hall il 12 febbraio. Da allora egli crea numerosi spettacoli di successo a Broadway e a Londra e compone anche per film (tra cui Shall We Dance e A Damsel In Distress con Fred Astaire) e anche dopo la sua morte il cinema continuerà a utilizzare la sua musica. Si occupa di più cose contemporaneamente ma, malgrado il successo sempre più crescente come direttore d’orchestra, pianista e compositore di musica classica, continua a scrivere canzoni per Broadway.

All’apice della sua carriera muore per un tumore al cervello. Le sue opere principali di concerto, tutte ispirate alla musica nera americana, sono la Rhapsody In Blue (1924), orchestrata dall’arrangiatore di Paul Whiteman, Ferde Grofé, il Concerto In Fa (1925), An American In Paris  (1928) e l’opera Porgy And Bess (1935).

George Gershwin  senza dubbio il compositore statunitense più conosciuto nel mondo. Tra gli autori di standard come Richard Rodgers, Cloe Porter, Irving Berlin, Harry Warren, Jerome Kern o Harold Arden, che sono i più suonati dai jazzisti, Gershwin è secondo dopo Rodgers, ma lo precede in popolarità.

Se Gershwin amava il jazz e se ne ispirava disinvoltamente, i jazzisti, a loro volta, hanno preso in prestito una buona trentina delle sue canzoni. Tra le più suonate nel jazz: The Man I Love, Oh Lady Be Good, Somebody Loves Me, Someone To Watch Over Me, ‘S Wonderful, Liza, But Not For Me, Embraceable You, I Got Rhythm, Summertime, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Love Is Here To Stay.

La struttura armonica di I Got Rhythm è servita di base negli anni ’30-’40 a numerosi pezzi composti da musicisti di jazz: Lester Leaps In, Anthropology, Salt Peanuts, per citare soltanto i più famosi.
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[Ph.B.]

American composer, pianist, and conductor (Brooklyn, New York, 26.9.1898 - Beverly Hills, California, 11.7.1937). Son of Russian immigrants and younger brother of Ira, who will become the author of most of his songs' lyrics, Gershwin begins playing the piano around 1910. At fifteen, he is hired at Tin Pan Alley by the publisher Remick as a pianist -demonstrator until 1917. In the meantime, he began to compose and, in 1918, obtained his first contract with Harms. Between 1915 and 1926, he will make over one hundred piano rolls. In 1919 he made his first complete score La, La, Lucille. Starting in 1920, he participated in five George's White's Scandals annually. In those years, he was the first "tuba" with Swanee, recorded by Al Johnson.

He became famous in 1924 when Paul Whiteman orders him the Rhapsody In Blue, which will be created at Aeolian Hall on 12 February. Since then, he has made numerous successful shows on Broadway and London and composes for films (including Shall We Dance and A Damsel In Distress with Fred Astaire). Even after his death, the cinema will continue to use his music. He does several things at once, but he continues to write songs for Broadway despite his growing success as a conductor, pianist, and classical music composer.

At the peak of his career, he died of a brain tumor. His main concert works, all inspired by American black music, are Rhapsody In Blue (1924), orchestrated by Paul Whiteman's arranger, Ferde Grofé, the Concerto In Fa (1925), An American In Paris (1928), and the opera Porgy And Bess (1935).

George Gershwin, without a doubt, is the best known American composer in the world. Among the authors of standards such as Richard Rodgers, Cloe Porter, Irving Berlin, Harry Warren, Jerome Kern, or Harold Arden, which are the most played by jazz players, Gershwin is second after Rodgers but precedes him in popularity.

If Gershwin loved jazz and was casually inspired by it, jazz musicians, in turn, borrowed an excellent thirty of his songs. Among the most played in jazz: The Man I Love, Oh Lady Be Good, Somebody Loves Me, Someone To Watch Over Me, 'S Wonderful, Liza, But Not For Me, Embraceable You, I Got Rhythm, Summertime, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Love Is Here To Stay.

The harmonic structure of I Got Rhythm served as a basis in the 1930s and 1940s for numerous pieces composed by jazz musicians: Lester Leaps In, Anthropology, Salt Peanuts, to name only the most famous.
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[Ph.B.]