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Paul Whiteman w/Minetti String Quartet
San Francisco, 1917-1918 |
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Revealing enduring and often amusing images from throughout the career of American orchestra leader Paul Whiteman, the accompanying photos chronicle an extraordinary journey of discovery that uniquely enabled Whiteman's work to reach far beyond the accepted practices of the time, and to serve as a defining force in the evolution of American jazz culture.
Beginning with his days as a classical violist in 1917 San Francisco; continuing through his landmark, 1924
concert billed simply as "An Experiment in Modern Music;" and extending beyond his appearance
in the 1930, Oscar-winning film "King of Jazz," based entirely upon the story of his life; the genius of Paul
Whiteman and his music stood at the forefront of popular culture for decades.
When once discussing Whiteman's role in helping to overcome the widespread social barriers of the time,
legendary composer and bandleader Duke Ellington stated "I used to hear Whiteman records taking the
snobbishness out of the music, and opening doors for musicians." As one of the most recognized examples of
his influence, Paul Whiteman's 1924 commissioning of a new, jazz-influenced work entitled
"Rhapsody in Blue," by composer George Gershwin, would forever "open the door" for the migration of
American jazz across countless boundaries.
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It would be in 1917, approximately seven years prior to his premiere of "Rhapsody in Blue," while still performing as a principal violist with both the San Francisco Symphony and the Minetti String Quartet, when Paul Whiteman's musical interests would first begin to reach beyond traditional, classical repertoire. Led by a passion for invention, Whiteman's search for a new, more creative, musical outlet was summed up when he would later describe his first attendance of a live, 1917, jazz performance. As he explained it, "my whole body began to sit-up and take notice. It was like coming out of blackness into bright light."
Continuing to be guided by that light, and now on a journey toward defining a new chapter in American music, Whiteman would soon go on to organize the first "Paul Whiteman Band" at the Alexandria Hotel, in Los Angeles. Located on the corner of 5th and Spring Streets, the Alexandria had already become a well-established gathering spot for Hollywood's elite, and Whiteman's jazz-inspired performances, now being referred to as "Jazz Classique," were preparing to change the course of popular entertainment. Attending his opening night performance at the Alexandria, on December 22, 1919, a who's who of Hollywood celebrity, including Charlie Chaplin, Wallace Reid, Gloria Swanson, Cecil B. DeMille, Sid Grauman, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and Rudolf Valentino, would all turnout to mark the now historic event.
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Throughout his career, Whiteman was able to maintain a surprising lack of vanity for a personality of his fame, and in 1927 was teamed with baseball legend Babe Ruth for a mock boxing match at New York's McGovern Gymnasium, where both had become members in an effort to decrease their clearly sizable body weights. Pictured here in a publicity photo for the match, with American composer John Philip Sousa in the background, also a member, and serving as referee, Whiteman and Ruth set the stage for their lighthearted stunt. Promoted as "Knock-Out" Ruth vs. "One-Round" Whiteman, Whiteman would humorously emerge as the eventual winner.
A reporter for the New York Evening World gave this ring-side account. "The pair of behemoths tripped into action, each landing blows on the others gloves with force sufficient to seriously annoy a fly. After a series of seconds of these interchanges, Whiteman poised himself, closed his eyes and swung a haymaker from the knees with his right, in the general direction of Ruth's chin. The blow landed instead on the jaw of McGovern (owner of the gym), some ten feet away from the mark, and the round ended in confusion with both principals rushed to the aid of the second." According to the reporter, the match would finally be given to Whiteman, with the added note that "he should have picked on someone his own size."
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