“Rhapsody in Blue”
Composed by George Gershwin; arranged by Bill Finegan.
Recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra for Victor on July 16, 1942 in Chicago.
Glenn Miller, first trombone, directing: John Best, first trumpet; R.D. McMickle, Steve Lipkins and Billy May, trumpets; Bobby Hackett, cornet and guitar; Frankie D’Annolfo, Jimmy Priddy and Paul Tanner, trombones; Lloyd “Skip” Martin, first alto saxophone; Wilbur Schwartz, alto saxophone and clarinet; Al Klink and Gordon “Tex” Beneke, tenor saxophones; Ernesto “Ernie” Caceres, baritone saxophone; J.C.”Chummy” MacGregor, piano; Edward “Doc” Goldberg, bass: Maurice “Moe” Purtill, drums.
The story:
In the 1930s and 1940s, although the swing era journalist George T. Simon was not always a discerning critic or a rigorous journalist, he was in a position as writer and later editor for the music periodical Metronome, to have ready access access to many of the musicians and bandleaders who made the swing era swing. In addition, coming as he did from a wealthy family (the Simon and Schuster book publishing business was owned by his family), he, like John Hammond, who was also from a wealthy family, could at times be arrogant. These two men were raised in privileged circumstances, and often had attitudes of entitlement. Musicians who were a part of the swing era understood how powerful they were, and how important a positive write-up from either of them could be in advancing their musical careers. Consequently, they usually interacted in diplomatic fashion with them, trying to balance resentment at their sometimes arrogant manner with the realization that they could benefit from talking with or being interviewed by these fellows.
Glenn Miller handled Simon well. He gave him access for talk and interviews, and made Simon feel as though he, Miller, appreciated Simon’s input on musical matters. I’m sure however that Miller regarded Simon’s opinions on music, musicians, swing or any other matter for which he had infinitely more experience and understanding, as at best expressions of Simon’s subjective attitudes, and gave them scant consideration when he was making musical judgments. Nevertheless, Glenn Miller got many good write-ups from George T. Simon. (Above right: George T. Simon in the early 1970s.)
Many years after the marvelous jazz cornetist Bobby Hackett (1) had been a member of Glenn Miller’s band, George T. Simon wrote a biography of Glenn Miller. The resulting book, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra …The Story of America’s Most Unforgettable Bandleader, was published in 1974. The book is good, though often surfacy and anecdotal. It is not in any sense a rigorously researched, scholarly biography, something that Miller’s status as one of the giants of the swing era demands.(1) Nevertheless, by the time he was writing that book, Simon had matured somewhat, and allowed the musicians he interviewed for the book to speak their minds. One such musician was Bobby Hackett, who had had a very successful career in his post-Miller years. Here are Hackett’s words, as recorded by George T. Simon in the early 1970s: (Above left: Bobby Hackett and his guitar soon after joining Glenn Miller’s band in 1941.)
“Bobby Hackett joined (the Glenn Miller band) on July 10, 1941, replacing Bill Conway (one of the Modernaires singing group), on guitar. ‘When Glenn hired me, I wasn’t playing cornet. I’d just had some dental surgery, so I couldn’t blow my horn. Si Shribman (a New England ballroom operator who had assisted Miller in the lean days before his band became succesful) – one of the greatest guys who ever lived – called me one day. It seems that Ernie Caceres (who then played clarinet, alto and baritone saxophones with Miller, but had previously worked in Hackett’s unsuccessful band), had been prodding Glenn to take me, and so Glenn had called Si. Si knew about the trouble with my teeth, so after he asked me if I wanted to join and I told him sure, he said: ‘By the way, you gotta bring your banjo.’ ‘Banjo!’ I said. ‘Well, bring it, whatever it is.’ ‘So I went to New York and borrowed a guitar and joined the Miller band.'” (2)
“Now Glenn really didn’t need me. He had four good trumpets and I was just a luxury to him. But Glenn wanted to help me out. To me, he was always a very wonderful guy, and I always considered it a great honor to have played for him. When I joined the band, I still owed MCA (Music Corporation of America, the booking agency for his failed band) twenty-three hundred dollars, and I didn’t see how I was ever going to pay it back. (Note: Multiply that amount by 15 to get the value in 2024 dollars.) So one day, Glenn called Billy Goodheart at MCA for me and said, ‘Look, you want to hold him to the twenty-three hundred? If so, you will probably get nothing. So why not settle for a thousand?’ They did and I paid them, eventually. But that’s the way Glenn would go to bat for you.”
Miller’s rigid discipline for his band members was applied somewhat more subtly to Hackett. Indeed, he tolerated Hackett’s drinking, which periodically left him in less than optimal condition for performing, especially cornet solos. One time, when Hackett had been partying all through the night with Fats Waller, the next day at a theater show in the morning Miller, who knew “…that I wasn’t in shape, and that I’d been drinking a lot, …called out ‘Rockin’ Chair,’ which had a long cornet solo in it for me to play. It was really rough. I remember that I had to lean against the riser on the bandstand just so I wouldn’t fall down. I shook all the way through it.” Miller later said to Hackett after a similar incident: “Junior, I didn’t think you were going to make it.” (3) (Above right: Glenn Miller beams while Bobby Hackett blows. Miller fully understood and appreciated Hackett’s very personal approach to playing jazz on his cornet.)
The music:
2024 is the centenary of the appearance of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” upon the American musical landscape. Many tributes to it and to Gershwin have been played out this year, and they are most welcome and deserved. “Rhapsody in Blue” is a memorable and exciting composition. I have seen and heard it performed by some of the greatest symphony orchestras and virtuoso pianists. Rarely is there not a standing ovation for it after it has been played. (4)
Gershwin in the 1920s.
I will cite extensively from an excellent summary of the story of how “Rhapsody in Blue” came to be composed, which was written in 1972 by Joseph Castner, to place that series of events into their proper context. “When Paul Whiteman in 1923 asked him to write a symphonic number for a special concert, which was to present jazz as a serious art form, George Gershwin (then 25 years old) was a moderately successful Broadway composer. …What attracted Whiteman to Gershwin was the composer’s adventurous approach to popular music, which had also attracted the attention of avant-garde intellectuals who were just then discovering jazz as an art form. But Gershwin put Whiteman off (for a number of reasons, including that he was a bit reluctant to plunge into the turbulent waters of concert music), Then, at some point, a note planted by Whiteman’s press agent, appeared in the New York newspapers stating that Gershwin was preparing a composition for the concert. At that point, Gershwin had second thoughts.”
“There had been so much chatter about the limitations of jazz,” he told biographer Isaac Goldberg. “Jazz, they said, had to be in strict time. It had to cling to dance rhythms. I resolved if possible to kill that misconception with one sturdy blow. I set to work composing with unwonted rapidity. At this stage, I was summoned to Boston. On the train, with its steely rhythms, (which are) so often stimulating to a composer, I suddenly heard – and even saw on paper – the complete construction of the rhapsody. …The middle theme came to me at the home of a friend (in Boston while I was playing the piano at a party). …A week after I returned (to New York) from Boston, I completed ‘Rhapsody in Blue.'”
“The now historic Whiteman concert took place on Lincoln’s birthday (February 12) 1924 at Manhattan’s Aeolian Hall. …The concert started with a special treatment of ‘Livery Stable Blues,’ and went on through numbers like ‘Yes, We Have No Bananas,’ ‘Kitten on the Keys,’ and ‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band.’ The audiences, titillated at first, found the music repetitious and grew restive …until Gershwin stepped on to the stage …to play the piano part of ‘Rhapsody in Blue’. With Rhapsody’s opening clarinet trill and the rising wail, the listeners suddenly came to attention. They remained that way until the end, which was greeted with a ten-minute ovation.” (4)
Glenn Miller’s arrangement on “Rhapsody in Blue” was written by Bill Finegan. It uses as its musical framework what Gershwin himself referred to as “the middle theme.” In addition to presenting the melody of that “middle theme,” the Finegan arrangement includes solo spots for Bobby Hackett on cornet, Tex Beneke on tenor saxophone, and John Best, who in addition to leading the trumpets in this performance, plays a lovely, brief solo on Harmon-muted trumpet. There is also a tract that presents the trademark Miller reed sound, which was built around the clarinet of Willie Schwartz and the tenor saxophone of Al Klink. It is clear that Miller wanted Finegan to write an arrangement that: a) exalted Gershwin’s lovely melodies; b) provided a showcase for Bobby Hackett’s melodic cornet; and c) included parts that would allow his famous reed section sound to be heard. The only improvisation in this performance is Tex Beneke’s tenor saxophone solo, which is nevertheless played against backgrounds provided by the Harmon-muted trumpets and open trombones (led by Miller) that are redolent of melodies Gershwin created as a part of “Rhapsody in Blue.” (Above left: Bill Finegan in the early 1940s.)
Bill Finegan in his arrangement carried out Gershwin’s stated purpose when composing “Rhapsody in Blue” to free the music of “strict time” and “dance rhythms” as much as that was possible, given that he was writing for a dance band. His use of out-of-tempo sequences behind Bobby Hackett’s cornet solo and John Best’s trumpet solo was exceedingly rare in the world of swing. That was because if there was no beat in the music, dancers couldn’t dance to it.
It should also be noted that after Mr. Hackett played his cornet solo, he picked up his guitar and played excellent rhythm guitar throughout the rest of the performance, including the delicate unison near the end, with bassist Doc Goldberg.
Members of the Glenn Miller band in California in 1942 while they were making the feature film Orchestra Wives. L-R: John Best, Bobby Hackett, Skip Martin, ??,??, Frankie D’Annolfo, Ralph Brewster of the Modernaires, Ernie Caceres and Tex Beneke.
“Rhapsody in Blue”
Composed by George Gershwin; arranged by Henry Mancini.
Recorded by Henry Mancini and His Orchestra for RCA Victor on February 11, 1963 in Hollywood.
Henry Mancini, directing: Conrad Gozzo, first trumpet; Frank Beach, Walter “Pete” Candoli and Ray Triscari, trumpets; Dick Nash, first trombone; Jimmy Priddy and John Halliburton, trombones; George Roberts, bass trombone; Vince DeRosa, first French horn; Dick Perissi, John Cave and Arthur Maebe, French horns; Ted Nash and Harry Klee, also saxophones and bass flutes; Gene Cipriano tenor saxophone and bass flute; Plas Johnson, tenor saxophone only; Ronny Lang, baritone saxophone and bass flute; Jimmy Rowles, piano; Bob Bain, guitar; Rollie Bundock, bass; Jack Sperling, drums; Larry Bunker, vibraphone.
The story and the music:
By the time Henry Mancini made this recording of “Rhapsody in Blue,” he was a bona fide pop music star. In 1961, Mancini won two Academy Awards, one for “Moon River” for Best Original Song, and one for Best Scoring for a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, both for the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In 1962, he won Best Original Song again, this time for “Days of Wine and Roses.” He was riding high not only as a film composer, but as a recording artist. His numerous LP albums on the RCA Victor label from the late 1950s and early 1960 had sold from moderately well to spectacularly well. In order to keep an unbroken stream of Mancini records in the marketplace, his various producers at RCA Victor were constantly exploring new ideas for Mancini to apply his musical magic to.
In the early 1960s, veteran swing era bandleader Glen Gray was having substantial success on the Capitol record label by recording exact replicas of classic swing era big band hits in state-of-the-art stereophonic sound performed by top-notch Hollywood studio musicians, most of whom were veterans of swing era bands. RCA Victor producer Joe Reisman approached Mancini with the concept for a new LP album: the preponderance of the twelve titles on the LP would be swing era classics, but they would be arranged in the Mancini style. The remaining tunes would be either current pop material or compositions written by Mancini himself. The album would be entitled: Uniquely Mancini…The Big Band Sound of Henry Mancini. (Above right: Henry Mancini in 1961 with his two Oscars.)
The piano is at the center of George Gershwin’s concert version of “Rhapsody in Blue,” and a good bit of virtuosity is required to bring the music to the emotional pitch Gershwin intended. Henry Mancini knew this, but resolved to treat the piano part in his arrangement differently. Instead of pianistic virtuosity, he wanted minimalism. The perfect pianist to do that with was the great Jimmy Rowles. Rowles was a master of musical understatement, yet paradoxically, his understatements frequently had great, often powerful, musical value. (Above left: pianist Jimmy Rowles.)
Here, in the introductory part of this performance, Rowles plays the same melody that Glenn Miller’s band used to begin their recording of “Rhapsody in Blue.” His piano notes, without any rhythmic accompaniment, float. Then the signature Mancini sounds of four trombones (three tenors, led by Dick Nash, and one bass trombone, played here by George Roberts), blended with four French horns, led by Vince De Rosa, and four bass flutes, and finally, the open trumpets, led by Conrad Gozzo swirl upward in tempo as the entire orchestra is then used to paraphrase Gershwin’s middle theme. (Above right: trumpeters Pete Candoli and Conrad Gozzo.)
This is followed by a dynamically softer passage containing a melodic a fragment played by the bass flutes, at first swathed in the warm sounds of the trombones and horns, then alone (and tasty subtle piano chords). The trombones and horns then play a tract of melody, garnished by puckish piano notes. This is followed by a melodic alto saxophone solo, played by Ted Nash, atop a warm cushion of trombones and horns, and finally some gleaming vibraphone notes, courtesy of Larry Bunker. (At left: Henry Mancini with Ted Nash in the background.)
The next sequence contains the build-up to the emotional and dynamic climax, with the reed players now playing their saxophones, and the brass led brilliantly by Conrad Gozzo on first trumpet at the top, and George Roberts adding just the right amount of sonic ballast with his bass trombone on the bottom. At the point where the orchestra is playing forte, Mancini has them stop, followed by sparse, quiet piano notes and nothing else, a marvelous contrast. This leads to a reappearance of the trombones and the horns, then the bass flutes and some floating vibraphone notes, and the droll tag ending. (Above right: George Roberts.)
This is high-content popular music, creatively arranged by Henry Mancini, and played with consummate skill and taste by his orchestra of crack musicians.
The recordings presented with this post were digitally remastered by Mike Zirpolo.
Notes and links:
(1) Cornetist Robert Leo “Bobby” Hackett, born on January 31, 1915, in Providence, Rhode Island, was influenced by both Bix Beiderbecke, to me always his greatest stylistic influence, and Louis Armstrong, his greatest inspiration. His playing was always warm and gentle, like Hackett himself, but interesting from a jazz standpoint. Hackett also played guitar early in his career, and this gave him a marvelous chord sense that he used well when playing jazz on the cornet. After going broke leading a big band in the late 1930s, he worked as a featured soloist in a number of big bands, most notably Glenn Miller’s in 1941-1942, where he was well presented on a number of classic recordings, including “A String of Pearls,” and “Rhapsody in Blue.” Hackett’s post-big-band career was successful because he was frequently employed on relatively wide variety of recordings, and also often led bands of various sizes playing his unique brand of relaxed jazz. Bobby Hackett died June 7, 1976, in Chatham, Massachusetts.
(2) The closest we have gotten to a rigorously researched, scholarly biography of Glenn Miller is the one written by Miller scholar Dennis M. Spragg, which covers mostly Miller’s time in the Army Air Force, and fleshes out the circumstances surrounding Miller’s disappearance and death in the crash of a military aircraft. That book is called: Glenn Miller Declassified,and it was published in 2017. I recommend it. Also indispensable for Miller aficionados is:Moonlight Serenade …A Bio-Discography of the Glenn Miller Civilian Band(1972) by John Flower. This book is loaded with details from the years Glenn Miller led bands up until he broke up his civilian band at the end of September 1942, and has many interesting photos in it.
(3)Glenn Miller and His Orchestra …The Story of America’s Most Unforgettable Bandleader, by George T. Simon (1974), 270-271.
(4) Here is a link to a particularly interesting performance of “Rhapsody in Blue,” with Leonard Bernstein conducting from the piano, and playing the piano part brilliantly:https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=cH2PH0auTUU
(4) The Swing Era – One More Time (1972), notes on the music by Joseph Kastner, 56.
Here is a link to Glenn Miller’s recording of “A String of Pearls.” In it is a great cornet solo by Bobby Hackett:https://swingandbeyond.com/2016/10/20/a-miller-memory-or-how-would-you-ever-have-anything-signed-by-such-a-great-bandleader/
