Gershwin to Gillespie: Portraits in American Music

A salute to 20th-century American music is being composed at George Eastman House via the photography exhibition Gershwin to Gillespie: Portraits in American Music, on view March 19 through June 19. The exhibition offers glimpses into the lives and personalities of the greatest American musicians and composers, as captured by some of the most influential American photographers, including Ansel Adams and Annie Leibovitz. Among those depicted in the 50 featured photographs are George Gershwin, Dizzy Gillespie, Leonard Bernstein, Lukas Foss, John Philip Sousa, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Aretha Franklin.

Gershwin to Gillespie visitor comments: "Wonderful, expressive portraits - they show both the inner humanity and the exterior drama of creating and performing music." "It is just marvelous. How nice to see the musicians when they were young, and to see composers of music that you love but have never seen a photograph of." "Wonderful, thank you, a gorgeous view of American musicians!"

"Individually, these images present us with portraits of determination, idealism and a strong sense of self. As a group, these images give us a wonderful cross-section of American musical life," noted musicologist Olivia Mattis, guest curator of the exhibition and organizer of the surrounding Gershwin to Gillespie festival. "These are complicit images involving a partnership between a number of America’s most perspicacious photographers and some highly creative American music personalities who were concerned about their place in history."

The exhibition is arranged in four sections: Champions of American Music, Great American Composers, Legends of American Jazz, and Icons of American Pop. The musical legends have been captured in various poses and settings, from studio shots and live stage performances to recording sessions. Mattis has provided detailed accompanying text that allows both the photograph and the photographer to sing out loud. For example, experience Philippe Halsman’s portrait of Louis Armstrong and see how it illustrates that Halsman was Life magazine’s most popular cover photographer, and also experience Rolling Stone photographer Annie Leibovitz’s creative images of Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, and B.B. King. Plus, learn the story behind Art Kane’s famous A Great Day in Harlem — one of the most famous jazz images of all time — and witness the stunning portrait of Eastman School of Music’s own Howard Hanson taken by the legendary Ansel Adams, with the reflection of a violinist appearing in the lenses of Hanson’s glasses.

"In putting together the exhibition I looked for images by photographers who were at least as well known as the subjects," Mattis explained. "For Sinatra I chose Halsman. For Bob Dylan I chose Annie Leibovitz. For Gershwin I chose Steichen. I was not interested in snapshots nor in publicity shots. Rather, I looked for images where the photographer and the musician were engaged in a creative dialogue. There is a spark or an energy that is released when two creative forces come together in a single artistic expression."

A full calendar of programs make up the Gershwin to Gillespie festival, of which the Eastman House photography exhibition is the cornerstone. Mattis’ goal in organizing the festival was to honor the legacy of George Eastman by combining music and photography. "As founder of the Eastman School of Music and of Eastman Kodak Company, George Eastman made these two art forms central to his life’s work," Mattis said.

The festival involves collaboration between the George Eastman House and a host of other presenters and ensembles including the Rochester International Jazz Festival, the Rochester Chamber Orchestra, New Music Alliance, composer Lukas Foss, pianist Thomas Schumacher, music historian Vivian Perlis, and Eastman School of Music faculty and student ensembles.

The final weeks of the exhibition will coincide with the Rochester International Jazz Festival, which runs June 10 through 18. Numerous other Gershwin to Gillespie events will take place March through June — many of which expand upon images featured in the photography exhibition — including Dryden Theatre films plus concerts and lectures at various Rochester venues:

Gershwin to Gillespie Events

Saturday, March 19: Exhibition: Gershwin to Gillespie: Portraits in American Music opens at George Eastman House, 900 East Ave. On view through June 19. Admission $8 adults; $6 seniors; $5 students; $3 children; free for children age 4 and under and Eastman House members.

8 p.m. Sunday, March 20: Film: Rhapsody in Blue, a fictionalized biography of George Gershwin, Dryden Theatre at Eastman House. Tickets $6; $5 students; $4 Eastman House members.

12:15 to 12:45 Thursday, March 24: Concert: Tuba Mirum, featuring music by Gershwin and other American composers, First Universalist Church, Washington Square. Free admission.

1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Friday, March 25: Lecture: Olivia Mattis presents "What’s American About American Music?" at Eastman School of Music, 26 Gibbs St., Room 320. Free admission.

5 p.m. Sunday, March 27: Films: Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist and Showboat (double feature), Dryden Theatre at Eastman House. Tickets $6; $5 students; $4 Eastman House members.

8 p.m. Tuesday, March 29: Concert: Thomas Schumacher, piano, including David Diamond, The Tomb of Melville and Barcarolle No.1 and other works, Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music. Tickets $5 /free for UR students.

10:30 a.m. to Noon, Wednesday, March 30: Lecture: Lukas Foss presents "An American Composer’s Confessions About the Creative Process." Eastman School of Music, Room Annex 902. Free admission.

8 p.m. Thursday, March 31: Concert: Eastman Contemporary Percussion Ensemble, featuring Lukas Foss, Percussion Quartet, Joan Tower, DNA and works by John Beck, Ward Hartenstein and others including two world premieres, Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music. Free admission.

5 p.m. Sunday, April 3: Film. Don’t Look Back, a documentary about Bob Dylan featuring Joan Baez, Dryden Theatre at Eastman House. Tickets $6; $5 students; $4 Eastman House members.

8 p.m. Wednesday, April 6: Concert: Ossia, including George Crumb, Night of the Four Moons and chamber works by Zach Wadsworth, Jon Deak and others, Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music. Free admission.

3 p.m. Sunday, April 10: Concert: Eastman Wind Ensemble, with works by Kyle Blaha (world premiere), Michael Daugherty and others, Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music. Free admission.

5 p.m. Sunday, April 10: Film: Night and Day, featuring Cary Grant as Cole Porter, Dryden Theatre at Eastman House. Tickets $6; $5 students; $4 Eastman House members.

7 p.m. Monday, April 11: Concert: Musica Nova Ensemble, including works by Eastman faculty composers David Liptak, Robert Morris and others, Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music. Concert at 8 p.m. preceded by panel discussion "American Composers Speak About Their Music," Kilbourn Hall, 7 to 7:45 p.m. Free admission.

8 p.m. Wednesday, April 13: Concert: Eastman Wind Orchestra, including Virgil Thomson, A Solemn Music and works by Mark Camphouse, Frank Ticheli and others, Eastman Theatre, Eastman School of Music. Free admission.

5 p.m. Sunday, April 17: Film: Janis, a documentary about Janis Joplin, Dryden Theatre at Eastman House. Tickets $6; $5 students; $4 Eastman House members.

5 p.m. Sunday, April 24: Films: A Great Day in Harlem and A Spitball Story (double feature), with Dizzy Gillespie and other jazz legends, Dryden Theatre at Eastman House. Tickets $6; $5 students; $4 Eastman House members.

1:30 to 3 p.m. Monday, April 25: Lecture: Vivian Perlis presents, "American Music: Portraits in Sound," Eastman School of Music, Room 320. Free admission.

8 p.m. Friday, April 29: Concert: Eastman Chorale, Repertory Singers and Women’s Chorus, including four American folk song settings by Aaron Copland and other works, Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music. Free admission.

3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 22: Concert: Rochester Chamber Orchestra, including George Gershwin, Lullaby, Timothy Sullivan, Music for flute, percussion and strings (world premiere) and other works, Hochstein Performance Hall, 50 North Plymouth Ave. Tickets $15 general; $8 seniors; $1 students. For tickets or information, please call (585) 328-5895.

June 10 through 18: Rochester International Jazz Festival. For tickets or program information please call (585) 234-2002.

Sponsorship for Gershwin to Gillespie is being provided by M & T Bank, the Rochester Area Community Foundation, the Institute for American Music, with additional support from the Goldberg-Berbeco Foundation.

For more information about the Gershwin to Gillespie: Portraits in American Music exhibition please call (585) 271-3361.