Norman Granz

At the height of his career, Norman Granz was one of the most powerful non-musicians in jazz. He always fought for the music he believed in (having a love for freewheeling jam sessions), for his artists (whom he accurately considered to be among the greatest in the world), and against racism, forcing many hotels and concert venues to become integrated in the 1940s and '50s. He studied at UCLA, served in the Army, and then, in 1944, began to make an impact on jazz. Granz supervised the award-winning film short Jammin' the Blues (which featured Lester Young) and put on a concert...