Paul Whiteman 1928 Symphonic Tone Poems

Paul Whiteman 1928 Symphonic Tone Poems
Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra - 1928 Columbia Recordings
The discussion of where Paul Whiteman fits into the Jazz Age results, in my opinion, into a series of "fits and starts" as music critics and scholars attempt to pigeon hole Whiteman's place in the Jazz Age. The sobriquet "King of Jazz" made many wince at the thought of this purveyor of popular dance music being crowned a jazz king. It was a publicity stunt. Whiteman was a well trained classical musician in his younger years but had been smitten by the new improvised music that came roaring out of New Orleans before the outset of the 1920's. However he wondered if this jazz could be harnessed into composition, as the classical vein would have it, so that the best of jazz could be played over and over again even though it sounded improvised. Hence the Whiteman era began with jazz music that was orchestrated. Some called his brand of music symphonic jazz. This was apparent after his 1924 concert, An Experiment in Modern Music. By the mid 1920's Whiteman was adding some jazz inspired musicians to his band. We know from jazz history that Bix Beiderbecke and Frankie Trumbauer were added in late 1927. Some truly great recordings were made in that time up to mid 1928 when Whiteman left Victor Records to go to Columbia Records. He began to experiment with the sounds that the band could make. Some reviewers in the past referenced these performances as tone poems, an old classical music term for music that reflected a particular theme. I'm not sure if Whiteman was the catalyst behind these themed performances or if it was his arranger Ferde Grofe who conjured up these themes.
Herein are some some symphonic performances with a popular jazz theme incorporated. I have to congratulate Whiteman for trying to stuff as much sound into 4 minutes of recording as possible.

The song line up:
I Can't Give You Anything But Love - Jack Fulton, vocal - Columbia 50103-D (W98589-3) 9/21/1928 00:03
Sweet Sue, just You - Jack Fulton, vocal - Columbia 50103-D (W98584-1) 9/18/1928 04:43
Gypsy - Austin Young, vocal - Columbia 50095-D (W98579-4) 9/18/1928 09:09
My Melancholy - Austin Young, vocal - Columbia 50068-D (W98537-4) 5/11/1928 13:39
The Man I Love (take 2) - Vaughn DeLeath vocal - Columbia 50068-D (W98538-2) 5/16/1928 18:14
The Man I Love (take 4) - Vaughn DeLeath vocal - Columbia 50068-D (W98538-4) 5/16/1928 22:43

Frank Trumbauer and Bix Beiderbecke appear on these recordings as well.