The "dialogue" between jazz and classical music dates
back to the very origins of jazz. Bix Beiderbecke loved the
classics and his piano compositions followed the harmonic
structures of European composers, while the great George
Gershwin attempted to mix the feeling of blues and jazz
with classical concert forms. Dave Brubeck had previously
explored the integration of jazz and classical music on
his 1960 LP Bernstein Plays Brubeck Plays Bernstein,
also a mixture of the two worlds. Celebrated composer
and conductor Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) not only
conducted the New York Philharmonic for years, performing
the most varied classics, but also composed the music for
numerous Broadway shows.
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