NEW EXIBITION CELEBRATES CAREER OF PIONEERING ORCHESTRA LEADER PAUL WHITEMAN February 15, 2005 Los Angeles --- As part of its continuing commitment to introducing innovative arts and cultural programming focused uniquely on the broad impact of American jazz culture around the world, the Center for Jazz Arts has launched its latest online exhibition, entitled "A Modern Experiment." Created in close cooperation with the Archives and Special Collections Division of Williams College, "A Modern Experiment" makes available to the public a collection of rare images documenting the extraordinary career of American orchestra leader Paul Whiteman. Perhaps best known for elevating the status of American jazz to that of a new form of 'symphonic invention,' through his commissioning of George Gershwin's landmark work "Rhapsody in Blue," Whiteman's passion for discovery reached far beyond the boundaries of classical music and touched the lives of a generation. Spanning the years 1917 to 1943, the featured exhibition includes enduring photos of Whiteman with such legendary figures from the worlds of music, sports, and entertainment as Charlie Chaplin, Maurice Ravel, Babe Ruth, William Morris, John Philip Sousa, and Douglas Fairbanks, and showcases a variety of both landmark and lighthearted settings from San Francisco and Los Angeles to New York and Berlin. During his lifetime, Whiteman's music not only reached its audience through concert performances and studio recordings, but also through the development of modern radio broadcast. In a 1944 interview, Whiteman would state, "Radio is a brand new medium for music. There's been music written for ballet, opera, movies, and various other familiar mediums, but there has never been any important music written for radio." In response to that new medium, Paul Whiteman's establishment of the "Creative Music Fund," dedicated specifically to the commissioning of new music for broadcast, made possible groundbreaking works from such quintessential American composers as Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington, Richard Rogers, and Morton Gould, as well as inventive, new works by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. Throughout a decades-long series of milestones in American musical history, Paul Whiteman remained one of the most internationally recognized figures in the world. As just a sampling of the vast body of images and other materials being preserved through the Paul Whiteman Collection at Williams College, "A Modern Experiment" reveals an important glimpse into the life of an artist whose work would not only bring new meaning to the world of American popular music but, in the process, would change its course forever. About Williams College: Established in 1793, and located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Williams College is a private, liberal arts institution consistently ranked as one of the finest in the United States. Maintained by the college's Archives and Special Collections Division, the Paul Whiteman Collection was first established through a generous gift by Whiteman in October 1935. About the CJA: Established in 2004, the Center for Jazz Arts is an international institution devoted to the study and advancement of American jazz culture throughout the visual, literary, and classical arts, around the world. Through its primary operations in Los Angeles, it is building a prominent new platform of engagement for students, artists, educators, and the broader public, from every generation. For more information contact: Public Relations Center for Jazz Arts (866) 950-5200 info@centerforjazzarts.com [ back to top ]