One of the most beautiful songbooks in American music history is the body of work composed by George Gershwin, and there is no edition of his work I enjoy more than the one illustrated by a much less heralded 20th century artist - Constantin Alajalov!
Here is a wonderful self-portrait of the Russian-born Alajalov painting a portrait of Gershwin at work in his studio.
Can you guess which Gershwin song this illistration pertains to?
Or this one?
If I said, "Oh, Lady Be Good" and "S'Wonderful" respectively, doesn't it put a smile on your face? What a sly sense of humor and innuendo we developed in that more restrained era?
This is my favorite - look at that Big Galoot it needs no title or explanation to know that the song here is "The Man I Love".
Here is Ella singing a live version of this Gershwin classic with a little bit of Alajalov-style in her improvisations!
Enjoy!
william
What a great way to meet the day--with Ella singing George Gershwin! S'Wonderful that Constantin Alajalov found inspiration in the music of George Gershwin and s'marvelous that you shared his illustrations. Spasiba!
Posted by: Betty in Chicago | December 15, 2011 at 06:26 AM
No words to describe this, I like this so much!
Posted by: price per head | March 19, 2012 at 09:10 AM