Gershwin - lecuona connection

George Gershwin and Ernesto Lecuona have been compared in the past by music critics due to Lecuona’s response to Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue in the form of Rapsodia negra. The influence of Gershwin on Lecuona, “The Cuban Gershwin,” extends far beyond a single homage, however. While in the United States and after having met Gershwin, Lecuona began building upon his Afro-Cuban, nationalistic roots with the incorporation of American jazz elements, reflecting Gershwin’s profound influence on his late-style works. Beyond the similarities that exist between these two pieces, this study deepens the Gershwin-Lecuona connection by demonstrating an almost note-to-note similarity between Lecuona’s Palomitas blancas and Gershwin’s Nobody But You. There were compositional elements Gershwin used that Lecuona later implemented into his own pieces that he never used prior to meeting Gershwin: walking bass chord progression and what I call the chromatic “linking” scale. I assert that Gershwin had a lasting impact on Lecuona’s late period. “The Cuban Gershwin” nickname goes much further than most realize.