George Gershwin - Tumblr Posts
KING OF JAZZ (Dir: John Murray Anderson, 1930).
Conceived as a star vehicle for bandleader Paul Whiteman, and featuring Bing Crosby in his first screen appearance, King of Jazz is a spectacular musical revue, innovative in both its use of sound and early two-colour Technicolor; a process in which blues and yellows do not photograph but the reds and greens look lovely. Such was the care taken with the colour photography that every frame of the movie looks beautiful.
As a revue there is no plot in King of Jazz, rather a series of musical numbers punctuated with short comedy skits. While the comedic segments may not have aged too well, the musical sequences are as wonderful as they are weird. Highlights include the rubber legged dancing of Al Norman in ‘Happy Feet’ and some incredible loose limbed contouring from Marion Stattler in ‘Ragamuffin Romeo’. Best of all is a magnificent performance of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, rendered ‘rhapsody in teal’ by the two-colour process. Here the entire orchestra is seated in the largest grand piano you have ever seen!
Although an expensive failure for Universal Studios on release, the film has since been reappraised. Thankfully so, as there is little else like it in Hollywood history.
Is King of Jazz a masterpiece? Not quite. But nearly 90 years after release it still makes for fascinating, not to mention highly entertaining, viewing. Anyone with an interest in 20s/30s band music and especially aficionados of early Hollywood will find much to enjoy.
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for more reviews of classic Hollywood movies! Link below.
So I was looking through my classical mix on spotify, and It was normal for a bit, yk, Bach - Cello Suite No.1, Vivaldi - Spring in E Major, Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue (absolute banger btw,) and then, out of nowhere I am flashbanged by music.
If you like art - You must hear pictures at an exhibition by Mussorgsky - he literally wrote music for art works imagening how they would sound!
Classical music to listen to based on your interests
(yes, I made another list. sue me. i’m all for spreading classical music awareness. feel free to add to this list.)
If you like facts and logic - literally anything by Bach
If you like roasting people - “Leck mich im Arsch” by Mozart
If you like politics - Sinfonia Eroica (Symphony No. 3) by Beethoven
If you like invading other countries - “Ride of the Valkyries” by Wagner
If you like showing off - “Caprice No. 24″ by Paganini
If you like nature - “Finlandia” by Sibelius
If you like dancing - Slavonic Dances by Dvorak
If you like art - anything by Debussy
If you like reading - Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov
If you’re classy - “The Blue Danube” by Strauss
If you like history - The Water Music by Handel
If you’re religious - A German Requiem by Brahms
If you like Star Wars/Star Trek - The Planets by Holst
If you like “All By Myself” - Piano Concerto No. 2 by Rachmaninoff
If you like crying your eyes out - “Nimrod” by Elgar
If you like the zoo - The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens
If you like jazz - Jazz Suite No. 2, “Waltz No. 2″ by Shostakovich
If you’re patriotic - New World Symphony (Symphony No. 9) by Dvorak
If you like satanic rituals - “The Rite of Spring” by Stravinsky
If you like the burning flames of hell - Requiem in D Minor by Mozart
If you like New York City - “Rhapsody in Blue” by Gershwin
If you like sleep - “Sicilienne” by Faure
If you like Halloween - “Danse Macabre” by Saint-Saens