Granz

Granz was notorious in the world of jazz for his arrogance.

The Forgotten Man of Jazz Terry Teachout 2011

Nowadays the name of Norman Granz, who died in 2001, is known only to gray-headed jazz buffs, but there's a fair chance that you own at least one of the hundreds of albums that he produced for Verve, the record label that he founded in 1956.

The Forgotten Man of Jazz Terry Teachout 2011

All Jazz at the Philharmonic contracts contained ironclad antisegregation clauses, and Granz would cancel a show whenever those clauses were violated, no matter what it cost him at the box office.

The Forgotten Man of Jazz Terry Teachout 2011

Though Granz goes unmentioned in the standard histories of the civil-rights movement, his contribution to the cause of racial justice in America was considerable.

The Forgotten Man of Jazz Terry Teachout 2011

"I insisted that my musicians were to be treated with the same respect as Leonard Bernstein or Jascha Heifetz because they were just as good, both as men and musicians," Granz said.

The Forgotten Man of Jazz Terry Teachout 2011

The "songbook" albums in which Ella Fitzgerald recorded her interpretations of the collected works of such classic songwriters as Harold Arlen, George Gershwin and Johnny Mercer were Granz's idea.

The Forgotten Man of Jazz Terry Teachout 2011

You've had many Jewish entrepreneurs -- George Wein, who created the "Newport Jazz Festival" and Norman "Mel" Granz, who had a very successful touring package called "Jazz at the Philharmonic" which began to break down certain barriers.

Vickie Karp: Third Screen: An Interview with Stanley Crouch 2009

Capitalizing on the large audiences JATP attracted, Granz insisted on a guarantee from promoters that there would be no "Colored" signs in the auditoriums.

How Jazz Helped Hasten the Civil-Rights Movement 2009

When the musicians -- Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Rich, Lester Young -- arrived, Granz watched as some white Texans objected to sitting alongside black Texans.

How Jazz Helped Hasten the Civil-Rights Movement 2009

Granz wouldn't bring it to cities where his black performers couldn't stay in the same hotel as his white performers.

Vickie Karp: Third Screen: An Interview with Stanley Crouch 2009