Selecting the other songs and pieces to accompany Rhapsody on the album caused me to ask, “Well, what exactly is the American sound?”  The answer I arrived at was the blues.  American Blue is a celebration of the influence of blues on classical and jazz music in America during the early 20th century.  Selections on the recording feature familiar names – such as Ellington, Gershwin, and Copland – and those that may be less familiar – like Florence Price and Mary Lou Williams.  Together, they draw a vibrant picture of American music and those who contributed to it.  I sincerely hope you grow to love this music as much as I do.

Listen to Samples from the Album

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Scenes in Tin Can Alley

Florence Price wrote hundreds of compositions, of which just a small portion were published during her lifetime.  This fact would have been left unchanged if it weren’t for the 2009 discovery of a sizable collection of her music manuscripts in an abandoned house in St. Anne, Illinois.  The sheet music for Scenes in Tin Can Alley was first published in 2020, thanks to the scholarly work of musicologist John Michael Cooper of Denton, Texas, who was also the first to publicly perform the work.  Prior to June of 2023, there were few – if any – recordings of Scenes in Tin Can Alley. 

According to Cooper’s research, it is believed that the three pieces in the suite were originally written as separate compositions between 1928 and 1937 and were later grouped together into this single work.  All three pieces feature programmatic descriptions.  The first movement does so only its title, “The Huckster,” which suggests a traveling salesman who performs elaborate demonstrations to sell his shady wares.  The second and third movements include inscriptions in addition to their descriptive titles.

“Children at Play” reads, “Children at play pause to stare at an old, crippled woman who passes along searching in garbage cans for food.  The pitiful figure disappears, is soon forgotten, and the children quickly resume their play.”

For “Night,” the composer writes, “The scene is sordid.  There comes a slinking figure.  Occasionally there is a swift movement – something scurrying to its shelter.  From within a squalid tenement comes the plaintive wail of a child, also the complaint of an older member of the family.”

Lullaby in Rhythm and Chili Sauce

Originally a big band tune performed by Benny Goodman and his orchestra, this solo piano rendition of “Lullaby in Rhythm” was arranged by Mary Lou Williams.  Williams arranged for the bands of Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, and Tommy Dorsey, as well as many other big band leaders of the era.  She was a formidable stride piano player, as is evident in her tune, “Chili Sauce,” which combines stride and boogie-woogie styles in a toe-tapping romp.

Creole Love Call, So, and In a Sentimental Mood

Duke Ellington has been coined by many scholars as the most significant composer of American music.  Having composed over 2000 pieces, it’s a title he has rightly earned.  Harkening back to 1927, “Creole Love Call” conjures the early roots of the blues.  “So,” evolves the standard 12-bar blues form with unexpected harmonies in the opening phrase, while “In a Sentimental Mood” evokes a timeless nostalgia that lingers still.

Four Piano Blues

Aaron Copland was highly influenced by jazz and the popular music of his time, and he looked to artists like George Gershwin, Bessie Smith, and Benny Goodman for inspiration.  Each of the Four Piano Blues is dedicated to a pianist with close connections to Copland’s music.  They are not traditional blues pieces in style or form, but instead, the pieces draw upon blues elements and reinterpret them in Copland’s own compositional voice.  The use of a plaintive minor third and syncopated rhythms evoke thoughts of the blues, and Copland’s frequent employ of bichordal harmony creatively results in the altered chord extensions inherent in the blues’ harmony.

They Can’t Take That Away from Me

“They Can’t Take That Away From Me” serves as the closing number in Gershwin’s 1928 musical, An American in Paris, and continues to be performed as a jazz standard nearly 100 years later. 

Gratitude

It takes community to nurture the arts, and this recording would not have been possible without the Dallas music community.  Special thanks go to Jason Webb, James Driscoll, Bart Marantz, Carolyn Jones, and Scott White of Kawai Piano Gallery for their generous contributions to this project.  I would also like to thank John Michael Cooper for his scholarship of Florence Price’s music.  I’m forever indebted to Dr. Chiu-Ling Lin and Arlington Jones II, my teachers and mentors, from whom I’ve never stopped learning.  Most of all, I would like thank my husband, Squirrel (Brian) Eiserloh, who sacrifices sleep, sanity, and the dream of a leisurely life to help me make music.