In January 1924, George Gershwin was shooting pool on Broadway when his brother Ira read him a New York Tribune article announcing he was hard at work on a jazz concerto for Paul Whiteman's Experiment in Modern Music concert. Gershwin had turned the project down days earlier. Whiteman admitted he leaked the story to beat rival bandleader Vincent Lopez to the idea, and Gershwin reluctantly agreed, leaving himself five weeks to write Rhapsody in Blue before the February 12 premiere at Aeolian Hall.

This episode follows the frantic collaboration behind the piece: the train ride to Boston where Gershwin conceived a 'musical kaleidoscope of America', Ira's Whistler-inspired title, Ferde Grofé's orchestration tailored to Whiteman's 23 musicians, and clarinetist Ross Gorman's joke glissando that became the most famous opening in American music. It ...