They Can't Take That Away From Me

Gershwin, 9/26/1898-7/11/1937

Like many an insatiably curious egocentric adolescent, I latched on to certain celebrities. I sought personal paladins, persons I could respect and hope to emulate. I hungered to identify with genius, dedication, talent, creativity. On Saturday mornings I'd haunt the .92 Biograpahy shelves at the John Muir Branch Library at 64th and Vermont in what then was known as southwest Los Angeles. Louisa May Alcott. Maria Tallchief. Christy Mathewson. Rosa Bonheur. Cole Porter. John Steinbeck. Amelia Earhart. George Gershwin.

Earhart, 7/24/97-disappeared 7/2/37

In my egocentrism, the last two idols particularly caught my attention. Both born in the waning years of the 19th century, both departed shortly after I was born on June 28,1937. Amelia disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, en route to Howland Island from Papua New Guinea on July 2, George Gershwin of a brain tumor right in my hometown, Los Angeles, on July 11. Obsessively over the decades I've read every new article or book about either that came my way. Often I'd lament that I didn't get the chance to become a fan while they were still around.

This September has turned out to be a tumultuous one for me, peppered with many challenges. Offsetting the headaches and heartaches, though, has been the bonus that September shined a spotlight on Gershwin...all month long. So even if my Gibraltar crumbled, I still have the music. Thanks for the memories, George Gershwin. They can't take that away from me.

Early in September as I headed for Lake Swanzey, NH, I began to read a paperback I had picked up in Portland's Powells Books two years ago, Wilfred Sheed's The House that George Built, a history of the titans of Tin Pan Alley who contributed to what's commonly called The Great American Songbook. I belong to CalJas, the California Jazz Arts Society, so after the past four years I've become familiar with many of these standards that remain the favorites of current jazz musicians. What's surprising is that even now, so many of these tunes written nearly a hundred years ago, still swing. Surprisingly, many of the songs I still love were composed by Gershwin, including "Someone to Watch Over Me." Here it is, sung by the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYEeAOTIQ2c

She enunciates the verse so elegantly, it's worth a listen over and over again.

My week at the Road Scholar retreat, "Birth of Cool Jazz: Jazz Steps into a New Groove," introduced me to some Gershwin jazz versions I'd not heard before, such as Charlie Parker on "Oh, Lady Be Good." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVHSQpZp8-E  This was recorded live in Los Angeles in 1946, with Dizzy Gillespsie.

September 12 I went with a group of AAUW music lovers for my annual sojourn to the Hollywood Bowl, this time for the screening of the Leslie Caron/Gene Kelly/Oscar Levant film, "An American in Paris," accompanied by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. While in the  museum, I opened a drawer and spied a copy of the original program of the Gershwin Memorial Concert staged there the week following his death. Here's the program from memorable event that featured Al Jolson, Frank Sinatra and Oscar Levant:  http://albumlinernotes.com/Memorial_Concert.html

My favorite paragraph from the liner notes:
The hit of the evening was Oscar Levant’s rendition of the Concerto in F. Levant, an intimate of George’s, had perhaps a better understanding of serious Gershwin than anyone. George had asked Levant to play the Concerto in a Lewisohn Stadium concert in 1930s, as he had taken on the chore of performing his two Rhapsodies for piano and concerto, and left a bit overtaxed to handle the Concerto as well. After that Lewisohn Stadium concert, George’s mother strolled over to Oscar, looked him straight in the eye and said, “Promise me you won’t get any better.” Promise or not promise, we are fortunate that Levant adopted the Concerto and Rhapsody in Blue in the years following George’s death, and became their supreme interpreter.

S'Marvelous

I'd enjoyed Levant earlier in his droll role in "An American in Paris," and am so glad he had remained friends with Gershwin, even though he complained that George always made him take the upper bunk when they traveled together on the train. Gershwin had explained his prerogative to his friend, "That's the difference between genius and talent."

On the 121st anniversary of Gershwin's birth, September 26, Larry Maurer, who hosts a series of retrospects on movies and music from the early years of the 20th century, returned to Bowers Museum in Santa Ana with a Gershwin retrospective. I enjoyed clips I'd never seen before, including the hilarious dance duet between Eleanor Powell and a talented sidekick, to "Oh, Lady Be Good," in the 1941 movie of the same name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01oV5mVFQ10

Eleanor Powell, "Lady Be Good"

 My tribute to Mr. Gershwin...yes, my love for you is here to stay.

It's very clear, our love is here to stay
Not for a year but ever and a day
The radio and the telephone and the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies and in time may go

But oh, my dear, our love is here to stay
Together we're going a long, long way
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
They're only made of clay
But our love is here to stay

In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
They're only made of clay
But our love is here to stay

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin

 

September at the Lake

Keith and Nanette, with Jim backing up on drums.

This past year started out with a bang. My little Nissan got t-boned by a truck that had parked illegally in the right hand lane of Beach Blvd., with its red flashers on. I'd been in that same lane, readying to turn into the Kaiser parking lot for a blood pressure check. I slowed to a stop behind the disabled vehicle and then signaled left and slowly proceeded around the truck and made my right hand turn. Turns out that wasn't a disabled vehicle after all.

Apparently the driver had pulled over to scout out possible billboards for the company he worked for, then got busy texting and started up the car to proceed without looking up to see I had made a turn into the parking lot entrance that he had nearly blocked.

That started a long series of mishaps, involving both me and some of the people closest to me. In May, my little recently-repaired Nissan was totaled in another collision as I as on my way to the Orange County courthouse where I'd been serving on the Grand Jury.

Finally late this summer I realized I had to run away from home (my apartment complex just has been sold out from under me, so hardly feels like "home" anymore). I didn't head for the

Lake Swanzey, NH

hills...instead I booked a flight to Logan Airport, rented a car and proceeded to wend my way across Massachusetts up into New Hampshire's Lake Swanzey's Pilgrim Pines and a restorative Road Scholar jazz seminar, "Birth of Cool Jazz: Jazz Steps into a New Groove."

This particular week focused on small jazz groups, rather than the Big Band sound. Nonetheless, we had plenty of time to examine the role of the Tin Pan Alley composers, from Gershwin and Berlin, yes, that Berlin, who besides the treacly "Easter Parade," also gave us such classic jazz tunes as "Be Careful, It's My Heart."

My favorite segment of the week? The Wednesday evening concert that featured vocalist Nanette Perrote, her pianist, Keith Kirkpatrick and one of our own Road Scholars who had brought his drums, Jim Davey.

Take a peek at the playlist and you'll see these great jazz standards, with exception of a couple of Joni Mitchell songs, all came from the Great American Songbook:

"Satin Doll," "Paper Moon," "Stars Fell on Alabama," "A Case of You," "Killing Me Softly," "Skylark," "Lullaby of Birdland," "Let's Fall in Love," "What is This Thing Called Love," "Miss Otis Regrets," "Amelia," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," "Take the A Train," "Beginning to See the Light," "Route 66," "Straighten Up and Fly Right." And the encore...."Georgia on My Mind."

This Thursday I'm celebrating George Gershwin's birthday, September 26, 1898, at our own Orange County's Bower Museum. https://www.bowers.org/index.php/education-programs/event/2018-timeless-melodies-george-gershwin

George Gershwin

Of all the film clips and videos we saw featuring the great jazz musicians of the last half century, this one will stick with me the longest...and I can recall today, the vernal equinox, when I fell in love with this tune, standing outside the old Balboa ballroom in 1952. Take a listen to George Shearing, with the incredible Margie Hayams on vibes, "September in the Rain." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fucUpCizpes

Happy jazz autumn, everyone!