George Gershwin

[Rick]

Famous American composer with generally upbeat, jazzy music (early 1900s).

Here are some pictures:

http://www.jackgibbons.com/images/Gershwin_in_1936.jpg
http://www.nndb.com/people/189/00002...e-gershwin.jpg
http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/26435...5A1E4F32AD3138
http://www.steveandeydie.com/images/...gigershwin.jpg
http://www.hofstra.edu/images/cul_Gershwin.jpg

That's a pretty distinctive face.

Gerswhin in his element:

http://www.milkenarchive.org/press/a...t_gershwin.jpg

And a video of him playing "I've Got Rhythm":



A little bit of text:

George Gershwin is perhaps one of the best-known but most misunderstood of all composers. His association with the world of popular music has led many to underestimate his genius as a composer. Everything he wrote, from his show-tunes to his concert works, bears his unmistakable hallmarks: intelligence and warmth coupled with irresistible and infectious vitality. The same qualities pervaded his piano-playing, which was spectacular not only on a technical level but also for its sheer inventiveness; the improvisations with which he happily regaled New York party-goers in the 1920s and 30s - some of which, fortunately for us, he recorded on 78s and piano-rolls - are amazingly intricate, miniature masterpieces of harmony and rhythm, full of the life and humor of the man.

According to a friend, Gershwin played "with that delightful zest and relish. There was a naive honesty of enjoyment about him at the piano..." Gershwin never tired of performing, whether to an audience of one or thousands. According to Rouben Mamoulian (first director of Porgy & Bess): "George loved playing the piano for people and would do so at the slightest provocation... I am sure that most of his friends, in thinking of George at his best, think of him at the piano. I’ve heard many pianists and composers play for informal gatherings, but I know of no one who did it with such genuine delight and verve. George at the piano was George happy."


I first thought ESE looking at the first few photos, but I now think SEE fits him better. His music is a mix of "wham-bang" vitality and slower sentimental sections.

[Jonathan]

Famous American composer with generally upbeat, jazzy music (early 1900s).

Just from the way his music sounds, I always thought he was SLE, but SEE could work. I've never seen him as ESE. The only famous composer I can see as ESE is Tchaikovsky (even though some of the biographical info may contradict that).

[FDG]

gamma SF

[discojoe]

Any music that invokes nostalgia of a time when I wasn't alive is certainly effective, if nothing else. His music does this and that's why he's one of my favorite composers.

[aixelsyd]

.

[olduser]

He rules. I thought SEE, SLE, and SLI.

[Galen]

Se/Ni extrovert.