2. Spring

Available for over a year

In 1925 New York became the biggest, most populous city in the world, overtaking London, and was the launchpad for an extraordinary range of writing, music, culture and politics which still resonate 100 years later - from the publication of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and the launch of The New Yorker, to the rise of the Harlem Renaissance and the first success for the composer Richard Rodgers. This is the story of that momentous year, season by season, told over four episodes, with contributors including novelist Jay McInerney, the academic Margo Jefferson and the editor of the New Yorker David Remnick. The series is presented by the saxophonist and broadcaster Soweto Kinch, with an original sound track played by the composer and clarinettist Giacomo Smith and his band Episode 2 Spring In April F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was published, but the novel that is now considered a masterpiece, fell flat in 1925. The New Yorker magazine was also struggling and was nearly derailed by a bad night at the poker table. But there was better news for Richard Rodgers, who went on to compose Oklahoma and The Sound of Music. Rodgers, alongside the lyricist Larry Hart got their big break, with Manhattan. In May 1925 a small branch library in Harlem opened a new division to cater to the tastes and aspirations of the neighbourhood’s predominantly black population. The library would become the focal point for the Harlem Renaissance. And the celebrity politician, Jimmy Walker, was lined up against the current mayor of New York for the Democratic nomination. Presenter Soweto Kinch Producer Katy Hickman Band Giacomo Smith clarinet; Laura Judd trumpet; Daniel Higham trombone; Alexander Boulton banjo; Joe Webb piano; Corrie Dick drums; Soweto Kinch saxophone