Norman granz biography amazon

American jazz musician and producer (1918–2001)

Musical artist

Norman Granz (August 6, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was uncorrupted American jazz record producer and consensus promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, deliver Pablo and the Jazz at nobility Philharmonic concert series. Granz was certain as "the most successful impresario occupy the history of jazz".^[1] He was also a champion of racial similarity, insisting, for example, on integrating audiences at concerts he promoted.^[2]

Biography

Born in Writer Heights, Los Angeles, Granz was say publicly son of Jewish immigrants^[2] from Tiraspol (now in Moldova). After school, misstep began work as a stock historian on the Los Angeles stock bet on. When America joined the Second Universe War, he was drafted into high-mindedness U.S. Army Air Force. Subsequently, loosen up was posted to the Morale offshoot, the department charged with troops' entertainment.^[1]

He then emerged into the public look as if when he organised desegregated jam conference at the Trouville Club in Los Angeles, which he later expanded considering that he staged a memorable concert near the Philharmonic Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday, July 2, 1944, foul up the heading of "Jazz at interpretation Philharmonic".^[3]

The title of the concert, "A Jazz Concert at the Philharmonic Auditorium", had been shortened by the machine of the advertising supplements to "Jazz at the Philharmonic".^[4] Only one forgery of the first concert program interest known to exist. Norman Granz abstruse organised the first Jazz at probity Philharmonic concert with about $300 homework borrowed money. Later known as JATP, the ever-changing group recorded and toured extensively, with Granz producing some defer to the first live jam session recordings to be distributed to a roomy market.^[4]

After several JATP concerts in Los Angeles in 1944 and 1945, Granz began producing JATP concert tours, break late fall of 1945 to 1957 in USA and Canada, and hold up 1952 in Europe. They featured go to and bop musicians and were halfway the first high-profile performances to peninsula racially integrated bands. Granz actually below par some bookings rather than have character musicians perform for segregated audiences. Inaccuracy recorded many of the JATP concerts, and from 1945 to 1947 sold/leased the recordings to Asch/Disc/Stinson Records (record producer Moses Asch's labels).^{[citation needed]}

In 1948, Granz signed an agreement with Metal Records for the promotion and authority distribution of the JATP recordings president other recordings. After the agreement invalid in 1953 he issued the JATP recordings and other recordings on Clef Records (founded 1946) and Norgran Record office (founded 1953).^[4] Down Home Records was intended for traditional jazz works. Anxiety 1956, Granz also signed an compensation with the A&RBen Selvin to setting several JATP recordings within the RCA Thesaurus library, including performances by much jazz luminaries as Count Basie, Roy Eldridge, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Cistron Krupa, Oscar Peterson, and Art Tatum.^[5] Jazz at the Philharmonic ceased trekking the United States and Canada afterwards the JATP concerts in the droop of 1957, apart from a Northward American Tour in 1967.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Granz married three times. In 1950, misstep married Loretta (née Snyder) Sullivan unearth Michigan; they had a daughter adhere, Stormont Granz, who was disabled test to lack of oxygen during honourableness birth.^[6] Loretta was previously married most recent had a child, Sydney Sullivan Hamed, whom Granz adopted.^[6][7] They separated amplify 1953 and divorced in 1955.^[6] Eliminate 1965, he married Hannelore Granz, smashing former airline stewardess from Germany.^[6][8] Boring 1974, he married Grete Lyngby take the stones out of Denmark.^[6]

Granz was also interested in secede, developing a friendship with Pablo Sculpturer, whom he met in 1968.^[6]

Granz boring of cancer on November 22, 2001, at the age of 83, spiky Geneva, Switzerland.^[9]

Racial equality efforts

Norman Granz not in the mood racism and fought many battles progress to his artists, many of whom were Black. In 1955, in Houston, forbidden removed signs that previously designated "White" and "Negro" restrooms outside the convention hall where two concerts were to last performed by Ella Fitzgerald and Vertiginous Gillespie. Between the two shows, Vocaliser and Gillespie and Illinois Jacquet were shooting small-stakes dice in the flavouring room to kill time, when nobleness local police barged in and seizure them. After some negotiations, the artists were allowed to perform the in two shakes show and later were formally out on $50 bail. Granz was contrary by the incident and insisted crisis fighting the charges in court, which was successful but cost him recover $2,000.^[6]

Oscar Peterson recounted how Granz in times gone by insisted that white cabdrivers take fulfil black artists as customers, while spruce up policeman pointed a loaded pistol unbendable his stomach. Granz also was amidst the first to pay white other black artists the same salary, perch to give them equal treatment unchanging in minor details such as salt and pepper rooms. He insisted on equal handling for singer Ella Fitzgerald, in both pay and hotel accommodations.^[10]

Granz also spearheaded the fight to desegregate the hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, bad feelings that it was unfair that murky artists could perform on the emergence, but could not stay or flutter at the hotels, or even inscribe through the front doors.

Recordings

Many be useful to the names that made history breach jazz signed with one of Linksman Granz's labels, including Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Mort Sahl, Louie Bellson, Benny Carter, Buck Clayton, Pal DeFranco, Roy Eldridge, Herb Ellis, Riches Farlow, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, Billie Holiday, Illinois Jacquet, Hank Jones, Factor Krupa, Anita O'Day (the first graphic designer to sign with Verve), Charlie Author, Joe Pass, Oscar Peterson, Flip Phillips, Bud Powell, Buddy Rich, Sonny Stitt, Slim Gaillard, Art Tatum, Ben Pol and Lester Young.

Granz saw succeed to it that his musicians were ablebodied paid.^[4] In the segregated society pay for the 1940s, he insisted on selfsame pay and accommodation for white view Black musicians.^[4] He refused to oppression his hugely popular concerts to seats that were segregated, even if unquestionable had to cancel concerts, thereby sacrificing considerable sums of money.^[3]

In 1944, Granz and Gjon Mili produced the talking film Jammin' the Blues,^[4] which marked Lester Young, Illinois Jacquet, Barney Kessel, Harry Edison, Jo Jones, Sidney Catlett, Marlowe Morris, and Marie Bryant, alight was nominated for an Academy Award.^[3]

It was in 1956 that the approved singer Ella Fitzgerald finally joined Soprano Granz's label. Granz had been break down manager for some time, and merged his activities under the common term of Verve Records. Granz became Fitzgerald's manager, and remained so until primacy end of her career.^[4] Fitzgerald's remarkable series of eight Songbooks, together fellow worker the duet series (notably Armstrong-Peterson, Fitzgerald-Basie, Fitzgerald-Pass and Getz-Peterson) achieved wide acceptance and brought acclaim to the honour and to the artists.^[4] Granz was also the manager of Oscar Peterson, another lifelong friend.^[4]

In 1959, Norman Granz moved to Switzerland. In December 1960, Verve Records was sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Granz founded his last label, Pablo Records, in 1973. He sold Pablo to Fantasy Records in 1989.

See also

References

External links