Norman Granz - The Man Who Used Jazz For Justice

The names Hawkins, Webster, Benny Carter, Fitzgerald, Peterson, Gillespie are ones that are associated with the deepest traditions in jazz. They played and continually evolved to stay current or ahead of the curve. They were the founding mothers and fathers of jazz and paved the way for future leaders in the improvisational music world. There legacy lives on in large part to their playing and the promotion that comes with that. If you don't have a forum or an advocate for your art what good is it really. For these legends they had the strongest advocate in Norman Granz. Granz was a tireless promoter, critic and transformational figure in jazz. He owned record labels, made sure that his concerts in the south were desegregated, stood up to racial prejudices at home and abroad, and in his own idiosyncratic way endeared himself to legions of jazz fans because he promoted the music and the people behind the music. Money was not supreme for Norman Granz- the music was. Today I was joined by Tad Hershorn an archivist at the institute of jazz studies at Rutgers University and author of the new book Norman Granz - The man who used Jazz For Justice