The Washington times., 1934-09-03

! I asked myself, with a new kind
of music that was played diff
ferently every night? Music
that could scarcely ever be re-
peated in the same manner, save
by accident. Some nights as
we played I might hear a
strange, thrilling combination Of
notes. I might wait a month or
more before we happened to
stumble upon those same notes.
Originality ran riot at the Por-
tola Louvre. My strict musical
training, the blood of four
generations of academic mu-
SicianS caused me to revolt.
Birth of Jazz
Soon / diScovered that I could
Sdve the best effects of 0iven
songs, add a tew colortngS of my
oUn and put the 1Ohole thing
into notes. So, / belieUe, 1OGS
born the first tDritten arrange
n1ent for jazz. One young man,
Paul Whiten1Gn By name, 1DGS
then leading a band at the Fair
mont Hotel in San Francisco.
Because he 1DGS in accordance
aDith my ideas, he i1Oited me to
continue my experiments 1Dith
his Sir-piece orchestra. I became
his pianist and "chiet GrrGnger."
Those were hectic days. Jazz
began to grow up. Our little or
chestra and our experiments
were heard way East. We were
invited to Atlantic City, and
then to Broadway, to the Palais
Royale. In 1924 Paul Whiteman
decided to add some musicians
to our group of dance musicians
and offer a concert at Aeolian
Hall. We meant to present jazz
in dressed-up form. George
Gershwin was assigned the job
of writing a composition which
was later to be called "Rhap-
sody in Blue" I was given the
task of coordinating and ar
ranging that work.
But George had not yet
finished with the piano sketch
of his new work when we first
met to discuss it. Almost i'm
mediately we disagreed. I felt
that a main theme, a real blue
melody was lacking in his work.
He didn't see my point. I Of
fered to let him work with some
one else. Finally George agreed
to let me include a little COM
position, q song that he had
played for me some weeks be-
fore. That happened to be the
lovely melody, the blue touch
that people whistled from coast
to coast after our concert.
/ had quite a task confront
ing me 1Dhe1, / started to score
the RHAPSODY in Blue" Here
waS a jazz piece at least tive
times as long as any that 1De'd
eUer scored before. / had to dr.
range this DorE 1Uithout Gllo1D-
ing the orchestral color to be-
come either n1onotonouS or in
appropriate. Just to complicGte
things, ! knetO, too, that, 1Dith
this 1DorE, jazz 1UGS making its
first claim for serious co1,SiderG-
tion. A large part of the re-
sponbility, therefore, rested upon
n1y shoulders. 1Dorked day
and night to haze this piece
ready for the concert. In t1Do
1DeekS I finished it.
That same year my own first
serious composition, Broadway
at Night" was completed. The
success of that work led to an
other work which I had pub
lished the following year, "Missis-
Sippi Suite" In 1925 I wrote
"Three Shades of Blue" while.
two years later, I finished my
metropolis" In 1880 I finished
working on What seems now to
be my most popular work, "The
Grand Canyon Suite" 1881
and 1892 saw the publication Of
"Knute Rockne," in memory Of
the celebrated football coach,
and Of Tabloid" the picture Of
a modern newspaper.
At present I'm working upon
a suite, Madison Square Gar.
den," a contemplated picture
of the inner workings Of the IA
nous sports palace. Also I'm
composing a suite, rip Van
Winkle," for the conductor of
one Of the major symphony or
cheStra in this country.
@SSaSGA8