caption associated_acts death_date death_place alias birth_place name background birth_date instrument genre image article_title birth_name occupation
whiteman and his orchestra , 1921 bix eddie lang beiderbecke , frankie trumbauer , joe venuti , 29 december 1967 doylestown , pennsylvania , u.s. the king of jazz -lrb- honorific -rrb- denver , colorado , u.s. paul whiteman non_performing_personnel 28 march 1890 violin jazz whitemanband1921.jpg paul whiteman
 paul samuel whiteman bandleader , composer
paul whiteman

paul samuel whiteman -lrb- march 28 , 1890 -- december 29 , 1967 -rrb- was an american bandleader , composer , orchestral director and violinist .
leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the united states during the 1920s and 1930s , whiteman produced recordings that were immensely successful , and press notices often referred to him as the `` king of jazz '' .
using a large ensemble and exploring many styles of music , whiteman is perhaps best known for his blending of symphonic music and jazz , as typified by his 1924 commissioning and debut of george gershwin 's jazz-influenced `` rhapsody in blue '' .
later , whiteman 's work on symphonic jazz influenced many jazz musicians either way - directly or indirectly - as diverse as miles davis , gil evans , the modern jazz quartet , wynton marsalis and other modern artists .
whiteman recorded many jazz and pop standards during his career , including `` wang wang blues '' , `` mississippi mud '' , `` rhapsody in blue '' , `` wonderful one '' , `` hot lips -lrb- he 's got hot lips when he plays jazz -rrb- '' , `` mississippi suite '' , and `` grand canyon suite '' .
his popularity faded in the swing music era of the middle 1930s , and by the 1940s whiteman was semi-retired from music .
whiteman 's place in the history of early jazz is somewhat controversial .
detractors suggest that whiteman 's ornately-orchestrated music was jazz in name only -lrb- lacking the genre 's improvisational and emotional depth -rrb- , and co-opted the innovations of black musicians .
defenders note that whiteman 's fondness for jazz was genuine -lrb- he worked with black musicians as much as was feasible during an era of racial segregation -rrb- , that his bands included many of the era 's most esteemed white jazz musicians , and argue that whiteman 's groups handled jazz admirably as part of a larger repertoire .
in his autobiography , duke ellington declared , `` paul whiteman was known as the king of jazz , and no one as yet has come near carrying that title with more certainty and dignity . ''
