George Gershwin, an early American composer spanning jazz, classical and popular music, is not well known in China. But it is undeniable that over the past century, Gershwin has profoundly influenced our listening habits and musical taste. In Jiang Wen's film "A Step Away," the Flower Country Beauty Contest led by Ma Zunri selected George Gershwin's famous song "SUMMER TIME" as the opening act for the final, bringing the eyes of contemporary Chinese audiences once again to the great composer.

Summertime is from Gershwin's late work Porgy and Bess. Porgy and Bess, composed by Gershwin, premiered in New York in the fall of 1935. In order to better represent black life in 1920s South Carolina, Gershwin boldly enlisted an African American as singer and chorus director, even if the choice might have left him mired in racist abuse. Gershwin did not shy away from incorporating elements of blues and jazz into classical art. He considered it his finest work.

Interestingly, One Step Away is set in Shanghai around 1920, 15 years before Porgy and Bess.

Two years after the premiere of Porgy and Bess, Gershwin died of brain cancer at the age of thirty-eight. However, his influence on the music industry goes far beyond that. Today, one hundred years later, "Rhapsody in Blue" has become an important clarinet repertoire, "I GOT RHYTHM" has also become a compulsory course for all jazz musicians, and "Porgy and Bess" has been adapted many times, each of the songs are widely circulated. Along the way, Gershwin single-handedly bridged the deep rifts between classical and jazz, white and black, so that different groups of people could share a unified cultural identity.

The music and cultural spirit represented by Gershwin is what BLUE NOTE CHINA pursues. Shanghai, June 23; On June 27th and 28th, Beijing, we are honored to invite the famous Italian trio Massimiliano Rolff Trio to bring us Gershwin Music Special performance "GERSHWIN ON AIR." If you want to know everything about George Gershwin, follow our footsteps and come close to George Gershwin at BLUE NOTE.