Government Worker

This chapter discusses Eubie’s employment by the WPA as a composer for the Federal Theatre Project’s variety shows. The chapter also explores Eubie’s partnership with new lyricist, Milton Reddie; Reddie and Blake’s work on the show, Swing It; the show’s reception on Broadway; Reddie and Blake’s attempts to interest black bandleaders in the work of black songwriters; their formation of an association to promote black songwriters’ work; and their formation of a song-writing service for would-be popular-song tunesmiths. The chapter also examine how, inspired by the success of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Blake wrote a few piano works that wed a classical harmonic approach to his own syncopated melodies; the illness and subsequent death of Blake’s wife Avis, and its impact on him; Blake’s reunion with Andy Razaf to compose the revue Tan Manhattan, and their attempts to have it performed; Blake’s hiring by the USO to tour American camps; difficulties on the road touring the South; and his first meeting with Marion Gant Tyler, who would become his second wife.

Origin Stories 1941–1947

This chapter examines 1940s jazz films that depict the early days of jazz and its spread from the African American community to white musicians and audiences. These films are placed in the context of early research into the music’s origins, and of the 1940s dixieland revival. Two films feature child prodigies. Parallels between the plots of 1942’s Syncopation and 1947’s New Orleans are highlighted, and the ways they depict the closing of New Orleans’ Storyville prostitution district are compared. The George Gershwin biopic Rhapsody in Blue erases the direct influence of African American musicians on Gershwin’s development as composer. The 1943 black musical Stormy Weather is briefly discussed, noting its portrayal of ragtime-to-jazz bandleader James Reese Europe.

“Is Rhapsody in Blue in the Public Domain?”: Copyright Knowledge of U.S. Music Librarians

Although several studies have looked at the perceived level of copyright knowledge among various types of librarians, none have looked at the actual copyright knowledge of U.S. music librarians. This project used a survey with two parts: The first asked music librarians about their perceived knowledge of copyright law, and the second included a copyright quiz of 13 questions. Seventy nine music librarians completed the entire survey, and results show no clear connection between perceived and actual knowledge of copyright. The results have implications for future training of music librarians in copyright issues. This is the accepted version of the article.

The Music in George's Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue by S. Slade

Slade, Suzanne. The Music in George's Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue. Calkins Creek, 2016.This biography gives Gershwin’s early history and then focuses on how he came to write Rhapsody in Blue, beginning with a train ride where the “train noises created new melodies in his head.”This is a very blue book. The whole palette is dark blue, purple and black, with sepia and light brown backgrounds and highlights. The images are surreal. One shows Gershwin reaching out of a bus window to grab a note floating in the air. Elongated keyboards twist and wave their way through collections of overlapping images. Parts of pictures are disproportionate. Apart from the colour and the images, the most striking thing is the shape of the text. On every page some words are much larger, in different fonts and different shades of blue. The text and the images are meant to reflect the wild, unpredictable and jazzy nature of Gershwin’s music.The music message of this book is that composers and musicians can find music anywhere and that great compositions often break the rules.While this is a picture book, the text includes some difficult words like “rhapsody” and “syncopated”, which could be read and understood by children in upper elementary and junior high school, but they might pose a challenge for younger children. Highly Recommended: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sean BorleSean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety.