Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music, 1930-1967: Volume 2(Studies in Jazz)

In a career that spanned 60 years, Paul Whiteman changed the landscape of American music, beginning with his million-selling recordings in the early 1920s of “Whispering,” “Japanese Sandman,” and “Three O’Clock in the Morning.” Whiteman would then introduce “symphonic jazz,” a powerful blend of the classical and jazz idioms that represented a whole new approach to modern American music, influencing generations of bandleaders and composers. While some hold that at the close of the Roaring Twenties Whiteman’s musical hegemony quickly waned, Don Rayno illustrates in this second volume of Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music how much of a dominant figure Whiteman remained. A major figure on the American music scene for decades to come, he would continue to lead critically-acclaimed orchestras, filling theaters and concert halls alike and diligently seeking out and nurturing musical talent on the largest scale of any orchestra leader in the 20th century. In this second volume of Rayno’s magisterial treatment of the life and music of this remarkable maestro, Whiteman’s career during the second half of his life is explored in the fullest detail, as Whiteman conquers the worlds of theater and vaudeville, the concert hall, radio, motion pictures, and television, winning accolades in all of them. Through hundreds of interviews, extensive documentation, and exhaustive research of over nearly three decades, a portrait emerges of one of American music’s most important musical figures during the last century. Rayno paints a stunning portrait of Whiteman’s considerable accomplishments and far-reaching influence.

About the Author :
For nearly 30 years, Don Rayno has actively researched the life and music of Paul Whiteman, a study that has culminated in the publication of the two-volume definitive biography of this key musical figure of the 20th century, Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music. Rayno serves as the director of Raleigh-Area Concerts of Prayer, a regional ministry in North Carolina that brings together Christian pastors and laypeople for united prayer activities.

Review :
[P]rint resources on Whiteman’s career have concurrently lagged behind; Don Rayno’s work in both this book and it predecessor, Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music, 1890-1930, helps in a big way to bring Whiteman’s life and output into crisper focus. ... Rayno pulls all of the elements that made up Whiteman’s career together in a scrupulous and comprehensive way. ... Rayno does include a day by day Chronology of Whiteman’s activities which include all of the individual airdates of Whiteman’s radio programs, and this should serve as a “bible” for those who are out seeking transcriptions and home recorded discs of Whiteman’s radio work. This is more than just a biography or a discography. There are 346 pages of test, followed by 110 pages of “notes” and nearly half the book is the “Appendix”, which not only has a complete discography for the years covered, but 36 pages of bios of the musicians who played in Whiteman’s orchestra. Owners of Volume 1 will certainly want this one, and it belongs in every research library. I predict that this present volume and the first will be the definitive work on the life of Paul Whiteman. What more could be done except a socio-psychological analysis of Whiteman’s personality? Don Rayno’s account is exhaustive, long, well written, should be the last word on Whiteman and, more importantly, should help to right some of the critical wrongs perpetrated in the past. Rayno’s work is admirably thorough, the official record of one of the 20th century’s key musical figures. Very readable and remarkably detailed. Picking up the Whiteman story from the early years of the Great Depression, Don Rayno carries it through the decades to the great orchestra leader’s death at seventy-seven in 1967…. Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music, 1930-1967 Volume 2 (and its earlier volume 1) is a major work of scholarship and a grand and spectacular contribution to American biographical letters.