Throughout the history of jazz, certain songs have been used as vehicles of expression. Some have come from various nationalities; others have been from different musical genres, such as Broadway. Whatever their original source, the common thread that binds them all together is that they have become standards in the jazz instrumental repertoire. On November 4, the Juilliard Jazz Ensembles will perform a "Songbook" concert featuring student arrangements of standards by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Richard Rodgers.

The biggest challenge for the arranger is remaining true to the original style of the song, while bringing a different breath of creative life to it.

George Gershwin is one of the most popular American composers. His primary field was the Broadway musical, but he employed various stylistic nuances and compositional techniques from jazz in his other compositions. Gershwin (who first heard jazz performed when he was 6 years old) began studying piano at 12, and began his professional career in 1914 as a pianist for the Jerome Remick music publishing company. Two years later he produced his first published composition: "When You Want 'Em You Can't Get 'Em." Though it was not a success, he began to attract the attention of Broadway composers such as Sigmund Romberg. During these years he continued his studies of piano, harmony, and orchestration and was employed as a rehearsal pianist.

Several of Gershwin's songs were included in Broadway productions in 1918-1919; the song "Swanee," performed by the singer Al Jolson in Sinbad, achieved great success. The first musical for which Gershwin wrote the entire score was La La Lucille, in 1919. A year later, he wrote the score for the 1920 production of George White's Scandals (and continued to supply several dozen songs for these annual productions through 1924).

For the 1922 Scandals he composed a short opera, Blue Monday.

In 1924 Gershwin saw his first Broadway success with the production Lady Be Good—which also marked his first collaboration with his brother Ira. In the next decade they established themselves as one of the major songwriting teams in the history of the Broadway theater. The Gershwins turned to political topics for their musical inspiration in the '30s, in response to the Great Depression. During that same period, George Gershwin blended his show music and classical leanings together in his opera Porgy and Bess. The Gershwins moved to Hollywood to collaborate on several movie projects before George's death in 1937, following unsuccessful surgery that revealed a brain tumor.

Juilliard Jazz Ensembles Concert Paul Hall, November 4, 8 p.m. This event is free; no tickets are required.

Though Cole Porter is perhaps better known for his lyrics, he was one of the most thoroughly trained songwriters of the 20th century. He began violin and piano studies at a very early age, and had his first work published by the age of 11. As a student at Yale, he wrote two of the school's best known football songs and supplied songs for many productions. He made his Broadway debut in 1916 with the musical comedy See America First (which closed after 15 performances). Porter then moved to Paris, where he lived through much of the 1920s. In 1928 Porter composed several songs for the Broadway production Paris, which led to a string of theater comedies such as Kiss Me, Kate and Can-Can. While writing for the Broadway stage, he also began to write motion picture scores which led to songs like "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "Night and Day." His songs live on in numerous anthologies and songbooks devoted to his music.

Richard Rodgers—one of the most legendary composers of musical comedy—began his career composing songs for amateur boys' club shows. In 1918 he entered Columbia University and met Lorenz Hart; their first collaboration was the show Fly With Me. Rodgers left Columbia after a year and studied composition at Juilliard, producing a number of additional shows with Hart before they achieved their first professional success with The Garrick Gaieties of 1925, which included the song "Manhattan." After spending several years in Hollywood writing film scores, they returned to New York for Billy Rose's Jumbo, after which followed (among others) On Your Toes, Babes in Arms (which included the songs "My Funny Valentine" and "The Lady is A Tramp"), The Boys From Syracuse, and Pal Joey (their first serious drama, which included "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered"). Their final collaboration before Hart's death was By Jupiter in 1942. Rodgers's later collaboration with Oscar Hammerstein II produced Oklahoma!, South Pacific, Carousel, The King and I, and The Sound of Music.

The concert on November 4 will feature student arrangements of such songs as "In The Still of The Night" and "Just One of Those Things" by Cole Porter, "Bewitched" and "My Romance" by Rodgers and Hart, and "They Can't Take That Away From Me" and "Our Love Is Here to Stay" by Gershwin, in addition to many others. Artistic Director Victor Goines notes that the "audience should realize the uniqueness of the arrangements that will be presented. Many different ideas will be brought together; some of the arrangements will be similar and some will be quite different." Through arranging jazz standards, the students learn different composition techniques and harmonic devices that can be employed in all compositional arranging.

In their instrumental arrangements for the concert, pianist Adam Birnbaum and trombonist Jennifer Krupa say they have added "their own spin on songs that have proven to be timeless," and hope to provide the audience with some insight into the arranging process as it relates to jazz. According to Krupa, the biggest challenge for the arranger is remaining true to the original style of the song, while at the same time bringing a different breath of creative life to it. The more opportunities there are for arranging these songs, notes Birnbaum, the more possibilities exist for different interpretations of the original composition. Some of the songs featured on the program will be familiar to the audience, while others will not be; regardless, notes faculty member Carl Allen, "the audience will be swingin'."