Rhapsody In Blue - Paul Whiteman

 

Rhapsody In Blue

Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra Play

Rhapsody In Blue

Paul Whitemans 50th Anniversary

Originated and Produced by Enoch Light

Recording by Robert Fine

Art Direction by Casper Pinsker, Jr.

Grand Award G.A. 33-502

1958

The cover on this release is two-color ink printed on top of a blue velvet-finished paper stock.

From the back cover: This is the music of America... this is the music that really thrills all of us... it's the music of Paul Whiteman... the music of the songs and the Rhapsody he helped to make famous, and of the musicians who performed it and to whom Paul Whiteman helped bring fame. Paul Whiteman and his music are an American institution – important, dynamic, productive – and a musical symbol of the ever-growing land to which they have contributed so much, and which remains eternally richer and grateful.

The music in this album is music which has been recorded before... recorded by Paul Whiteman and by many of the same musicians who play it now... who play it now as they never have played it before!

The results are here for all to hear – undoubtedly the greatest Whiteman performances of all time!

The most ambitious undertaking in this album is the performance of George Gershwin's epoch-making composition Rhapsody In Blue. Written at the express request of Paul Whiteman, it was first performed in 1924 and has since become an American classic.

Never before has the Rhapsody been recorded with such amazing clarity, so that, as Whiteman says, "You feel a if you are sitting in the band, itself, and hearing every instrument," It is also, according to Pops, the most authentic version of the piece since its composer recorded it with the Whiteman band more than thirty years ago. "That's why I wanted to record it," Whiteman explains, "after listening to all the recordings of the Rhapsody, we felt we had strayed a great deal from its original concept. Now, even though we'd go back to the original Gershwin recording. In recent  years there have been some brilliant renditions, but they've shown off the pianist more than they have the Rhapsody."

"I'm sure that there's hardly a pianist today who wouldn't be thrilled to record the Rhapsody, but I chose Eugene Weed because (1) he has the tremendous technical equipment necessary to play the composition, and (2) because he's one of the very few good jazz pianists who was willing and anxious to listen to the original George Gershwin recording over and over again so that he could recapture the original spirit. Personally, I am very proud of this version of the Rhapsody In Blue."

The other selections on this record have just as interesting backgrounds. Paul Whiteman first heard When Day Is Done in Germany, and incorporated it into his repertoire with Henry Busse playing his famous chorus. In this album, the Busse chorus is played by Charlie Margulis, a top trumpet man who worked with the Whiteman band many years ago.

The song It Happened In Monterey is from the screen tribute to Paul Whiteman, "The King Of Jazz," And the fascinating Limehouse Blues features the harmonica of one of America's stars of the instrument, Eddy Manson. Whiteman first heard the song in an English musical "Charlotte's Revue" and was so impressed he recorded it. The version recorded in this album is an entirely new arrangement by Lew Davies. The other instrumentals on this side were all big favorites with the Whiteman band. Most of them were introduced by the band, too, during the twenties and are revived with the help of the talented Davies' pen.

"One thing I'd like to point out," says Whiteman,  "is that in this album we are not trying to blaze any musical trails. We want the music and the musicians to speak for themselves, just as they have in the past."

We think you will agree that, in this album, music and musicians do "speak" ... They speak with the warm eloquence and timeless appeal that is, and has always been Paul Whiteman!

Rhapsody In Blue (Eugene Weed - Piano, Al Gallodore - Clarinet,  Charles Margulis- Trumpet

When Day Is Done ( Charles Margulis- Trumpet)

It Happened In Monterey 

Limehouse Blues (Eddy Manson - Harmonica)

Ramona

Autumn Leaves (Joe Venuti - Violin)