George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" is about to turn 100. It premiered on February 12, 1924. San Antonio's 22-player Dirty River Jazz Orchestra will be re-creating that premiere on Monday the 12th at the Scottish Rite Auditorium.
Trevin Roming, the pianist who'll be doing the heavy lifting, dropped by our broadcast studio to play live on-air Tuesday, and talk about the upcoming show.
Says Roming, "It's a little nerve-wracking. I would consider myself mostly a jazz musician, so having to play someone's notes that they wrote down, accurately, can be a little bit of a struggle for me."
The piece was commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman. Gershwin was writing some of the most popular songs of the day. Roming points out there were several notables in the audience of that premiere, including Igor Stravinsky, who included jazz elements in his modernist works. John Philip Sousa was also there.
No doubt San Antonio notables will be there this Monday, at the Scottish Rite, which itself celebrates 100 years this year as well.
