What is symphonic jazz and why is it important in the history of American musical culture?
JH: The greatest legacy of this idiom lies in a certain luxury pop aesthetic that still appears today in various guises. In its roots in the interwar years, this luxe pop, big-band-plus-strings idiom came to characterize a quintessential American entertainment sound that initially extended from dance bands, to interwar radio orchestras, to jazzy Broadway and Hollywood musicals of the Depression era. In many ways, this music was glorified, or luxury-style, pop in which standard song forms were turned into elaborate, lengthy production numbers through glamorous, sophisticated arrangements that juxtaposed sensual, lowdown jazz-style elements with lush, luxuriant strings and occasional classical-style effects. The concert compositions of this trend functioned in a similar manner, the most famous being George Gershwin’s 1924 Rhapsody in Blue, which was commissioned and premiered by the dance band leader Paul Whiteman. Following the touchstone aesthetics of Whiteman’s early 1920s symphonic j
