In their time, the Gershwin brothers were among the hottest musical acts in America. The team of George (tunes) and Ira (lyrics) were behind such songs as “I Got Rhythm,” “Embraceable You,” “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “Love Is Here to Stay.” They also embraced the theater with plays like “Porgy and Bess.” And then there’s George Gershwin’s great orchestral composition, “Rhapsody in Blue.”
Tragically, at age 38, George died, leaving Ira in search of a songwriting partner. Eventually, he returned to the stage, writing lyrics for songs like “The Saga of Jenny” (with Kurt Weill, for the 1941 musical “Lady in the Dark”), “Long Ago (and Far Away)” (with Jerome Kern, for 1944’s “Cover Girl”) and “The Man That Got Away” (with Harold Arlen, for the 1954 version of “A Star is Born”).
Some of those tunes are returning thanks to Ojai producer Michael Estwanik and his American Songbook Today series…