Norman Granz. The Man Who Used Jazz for Justice

Any book on my life would start with my basic philosophy of fighting racial prejudice. I loved jazz, and jazz was my way of doing that, Norman Granz told Tad Hershorn during the final interviews given for this book. Granz, who died in 2001, was iconoclastic, independent, immensely influential, often thoroughly unpleasant--and one of jazz´s true giants. Granz played an essential part in bringing jazz to audiences around the world, defying racial and social prejudice as he did so, and demanding that African-American performers be treated equally everywhere they toured. In this definitive biography, Hershorn recounts Granz´s story: creator of the legendary jam session concerts known as Jazz at the Philharmonic; founder of the Verve record label; pioneer of live recordings and worldwide jazz concert tours; manager and recording producer for numerous stars, including Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson. Thoroughly researched and compulsively readable, this major work fills gaps in jazz history while offering a fresh perspective. It places Norman Granz at center stage, animating his tireless efforts for social change and grounding his determined leverage of stardom and high art in the cause of basic fairness.