via Belafleck.com
Béla Fleck on Rhapsody in Blue
I first became aware of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue as a youngster growing up in New York City. My Uncle Steve loved to take me and my big brother, Louie, to see old movies at the Thalia on West 95th Street, just a few steps off of Broadway. One day, Uncle Steve took us to see the film Rhapsody in Blue. It had a huge impact on me and I became a fan of Gershwin and his composition from then on. I had never heard anything like it – it was love at first listen.
As years passed, Rhapsody in Blue became ingrained in so many of us Manhattanites; somehow it seemed to symbolize our grand city. As I went on to learn the banjo and launch a career in the music world, I found myself coming back to Rhapsody again and again over the years. I was always moved by it and gradually became quite curious about it, especially regarding the piano part; I wished I could play it on my instrument.
Fast forwarding now to much later in life: I found myself with an unexpected amount of time on my hands during pandemic, and I once again began daydreaming about that piano part in Rhapsody. Was any of it playable on the banjo?