Last week, I had the privilege of attending a remarkable event—a free performance commemorating the centennial anniversary of George Gershwin’s masterpiece, “Rhapsody in Blue.” The prospect of watching this live was already exciting, but I also received a serendipitous story that I’d like to share today.
The evening’s pianist, Kevin Cole, grew up in Bay City, Michigan. And when he was 15 years old, he learned that one of the premier experts of George Gershwin’s music also was from Bay City, Michigan, though he was living now in New York City. So he found a Manhattan phone book — I can’t imagine how big that was — and looked up this man’s name. There were twenty people with that same name, so he took his finger and just randomly let it land one one of the names. He dialed the number and said,
“Hello, my name is Kevin Cole, I’m 15 years old, from Bay City, Michigan, and I just wanted to tell you that I love George Gershwin too.”
He had called the right person!
The fortuitous encounter led Kevin Cole to receive an invitation to visit this man at his home in Manhattan, and only a couple of days later, there he was on the doorstep. They spent time connecting, and then he asked young Kevin Cole, “Do you want to play for me?” He then played some Gershwin classics, and while telling us this story, he shared, “Then this man said the one sentence that changed my life: ‘Do you know that you play like George Gershwin?'”
The man then introduced him to recordings of George Gershwin playing his own music. Fast forward fifty years, Kevin Cole, now 65, has emerged as the person who is widely considered to be the preeminent interpreter of Gershwin’s repertoire.
“I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time,” he shared, “And I’m quite emotional, so let’s hope this goes well. It’s not every day that you get to play your hero’s piano.”
The piano on the stage was George Gershwin’s 1934 piano.
And gush he did, infusing the auditorium with an incredible sound and energy I’ll think about any time I hear this piece of music. It was an honor to watch him play this piece of music expertly, but also have one of the most joyful encounters in his life with this music — on his own hero’s piano. I love watching people come alive, and this was no exception.
I’d love to share the performance:
Smuggling Grace 