Music of the Decade

The first jazz record, by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, was released in 1917, to the delight of an avid public: but the word…

The first jazz record, by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, was released in 1917, to the delight of an avid public: but the word in art music circles was that the fusion of jazz and classical music would create a new kind of sound - "making a lady out of jazz", as it's called - and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (1924) does just that. It's a piano concerto, but its catchy name and "greatest hits" structure makes sure it's frowned upon by the music establishment - and loved by everybody else.

Arminta Wallace

Arminta Wallace

Arminta Wallace is a former Irish Times journalist