Norman Granz: The Man Who Used Jazz for Justice - Biography of a Jazz Legend & Civil Rights Activist - Perfect for Music Lovers & History Enthusiasts

Hardcover. Forward by Oscar Peterson. 14 page Prologue, 377 pages of text including an Epilogue, 4 page Chronology of Granz' life, 12 page Selected Bibliography, plus notes and an Index. There's also 16 pages of b&w photographs of Granz throughout his life. One great shot is of Granz and Pablo Picasso (Granz posed for Picasso several times-there's a portrait of Granz included) playing ping-pong. Another is an informal portrait of Granz in front of a drawing by Picasso of Ella Fitzgerald."Even half asleep, I love and appreciate you. Thanks very much. Ella." Ella Fitzgerald's telegram to Norman Granz in Paris.Norman Granz is perhaps best known as the creator of the legendary Jazz At The Philharmonic series of concerts, and as the founder of the Verve records label. Anyone who listens to jazz to any extent will be familiar with his name. Granz produced and/or recorded many of the jazz stars whose music is still revered today.But what most people don't know is that, along with presenting the very best in jazz, Granz also fought stubbornly for racial equality wherever he was in the world. He presented nothing but the best jazz artists, and felt they should be treated as the stars they were. And in the time period covered in this book, that was a difficult thing to do-both here in the U.S., and in Europe. Granz once commented (while on tour in Germany) on the fact that the Nazis had lost the war, yet they wouldn't treat Black musicians on an equal basis with Whites. And that's just one instance in this fine book on Granz' stance for equality. He never waivered when it came to the music he loved-he sought out only the best musicians he could find. And his commitment to racial equality was just as intractable.The author, Tad Hershon, has dug deeply into Granz' background, including interviewing Granz shortly before his death. The in depth research is written with a combination of intelligence, an insight and reverence for Granz and the music. Together they combine into a very readable, informative look into not only Granz, but the era and the music. This fine book should be required reading by anyone who listens to jazz, and by anyone who wishes to know more about one of the genre's greatest non-musicians, whose importance to not only the music, but for racial equality of those musicians, was almost without peer. This book belongs on every jazz fan's shelf.