Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin is celebrated

Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin is celebrated

A bit later than planned thanks to the two previous exciting news items, this event had in any case already taken place by the time it came to my attention but I still think it deserves mention here as another splendid example of 1920s jazz performed for a new generation.

Pre-eminent modern bandleader and jazz music revivalist (what a great term!) Vince Giordano - who has previously featured a couple of times on this blog - and his Nighthawks band recently took the opportunity to mark the 90th anniversary of the first performance of George Gershwin's composition Rhapsody in Blue.  Originally debuted by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, with Gershwin himself at the piano, on the 12th February 1924 the piece was performed once again by Mr Giordano and the Nighthawks (doubled from the band's usual 11 musicians to 22 - just as Paul Whiteman did - plus a special guest conductor) at the Manhattan Town Hall - 90 years later to the day.  



Brooklyn 'Jazz Age’ revivalist Giordano to recreate 'Rhapsody in Blue’ concert

As well as this recreated version of Rhapsody in Blue Giordano and his band also played some of their standard set pieces and the whole event sounds like it was an absolute hoot - the perfect way to mark such a musical milestone.  It is always splendid to see that this early jazz music is still appreciated and enjoyed - hopefully sparking the enthusiasm of a new generation.  With this performance and others in films like The Great Gatsby and Manhattan, plus a possible biopic in the works, the Jazz Age as epitomised by George Gershwin seems to show no signs of being forgotten - and a jolly good thing too!

A visit from a Nighthawk

Yesterday afternoon I returned from a post-prandial perambulation, sat down at my desk, opened my Inbox and... espied a familiar, yet totally unexpected name therein.  That of Vince Giordano!

"Surely not the Vince Giordano - band leader of The Nighthawks, America's premier Jazz Age musicians of today who are responsible for the live performances heard (and sometimes seen) in film & television productions that we all know and love such as The Cotton Club, The Aviator and most recently Boardwalk Empire (for which he won a Grammy)?!", I thought to myself with barely-suppressed excitement and disbelief, as I racked my brains trying to remember if I had subscribed to a mailing list or something.

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But no, it was no mailshot, but the man himself!  Reading - praising, even - my insignificant little blog!  I'm still all aflutter just thinking about it.  With kind words Mr Giordano wrote about our shared interest in vintage items, places and of course music - wishing that more people felt the same way too (something I hope I was able to reassure him with in my reply telling of all the fine like-minded folk I have found since I started this blog).  Modestly he thanked me for featuring a link to what was then his Myspace page (in the left-hand column subtitled "Music & the Wireless"), a link that - at his request - I have now updated to point to his new own-domain website vincegiordano.com.

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Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks have, as mentioned, performed on the soundtracks of some major motion pictures and television series in the last 30 years and Mr Giordano is also well-known in his own country for being an authority on the music of the 1920s and '30s, as well as preserving thousands of gramophone records from the period in his own collection.  He and his band play live - as you can see in the video - every Monday and Tuesday night at Sofia's Restaurant in New York's Times Square (a performance I would certainly not miss were I ever to visit that great city) as well as at festivals throughout the country.  Along with Max Raabe in Germany and the Pasadena Roof Orchestra here in Britain they form a triumvirate of dance and swing bands in the world today.  That he was kind enough to contact me has made my year and further goes to prove the gracious nature of people with an interest in the past.

I am more than happy to have a link to Vince Giordano's website on my blog and hope you all enjoy visiting it and listening to his fabulous recreation of our favourite songs (and featuring in our favourite period shows) as much as I do.  Thank you, Mr Giordano!

Vince Giordano’s passion for 1920s music serves him well as ‘Boardwalk Empire’ maestro

Vince Giordano’s passion for 1920s music serves him well as ‘Boardwalk Empire’ maestro

A pleasant little article from the New York Daily News here, focusing on the music of the spiffing television series Boardwalk Empire (which still hasn't made it to a terrestrial British channel *shakes fist at Rupert Murdoch*, guess I'll just have to get a hold of the box set when Season 1 is released on the 9th January).

Renowned jazz bandleader Vince Giordano is the man behind all of the live music heard in Boardwalk Empire, as well as having been involved in providing the authentic sound for many a period piece in the past.  As well as helping to provide the score for Boardwalk Empire Giordano and his band, the Nighthawks, play live every week at a local New York restaurant.  In every respect they are one of the most accurate hot jazz bands of the modern age, with a sound so reminiscent of the 1920s and '30s that they are practically indistinguishable from original live bands of the time.  No wonder they are in so much demand for film and television work!

Boardwalk Empire's success can no doubt be put down in part to the attention to detail displayed in each and every episode and this obviously extends to the music as well.  It is another feather in the cap of Mr Giordano and his band that he is involved in this series and it's wonderful to see (and hear) this toe-tapping music in a popular TV show.