Stéphane Grappelli plays “I Got Rhythm“ (1984)

Legendary French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli (1908–1997) plays the jazz standard “I Got Rhythm“ in this 1984 live performance in New Orleans. The tune was originally composed by George Gershwin (1898–1937) for the musical “Girl Crazy“ in 1930. Grappelli received classical training at the Paris Conservatoire, but he was inspired to play jazz after hearing Joe Venuti perform with Paul Whiteman’s orchestra. Grappelli co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt, and he went on to collaborate with such figures as Yehudi Menuhin, Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Simon, and L. Subramanian.