The Jazz Palace

By Mary Morris

Book Overview

Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award Boomtown Chicago, 1920s--a world of gangsters, musicians, and clubs. Young Benny Lehrman, born into a Jewish hat-making family, is expected to take over his father's business, but his true passion is piano--especially jazz. After dark, he sneaks down to the South Side to hear the bands play. One night he is asked to sit in with a group. His playing is first-rate. The trumpeter, a black man named Napoleon, becomes Benny's friend and musical collaborator. They are asked to play at a saloon Napoleon has christened The Jazz Palace. But Napoleon's main gig is at a mob establishment, which doesn't take kindly to their musicians freelancing . As Benny and Napoleon navigate the highs and the lows of the Jazz Age, a bond is forged between them that is as memorable as it is lasting. Morris brilliantly captures the dynamic atmosphere and dazzling music of an exceptional era.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1101872861
• ISBN13: 9781101872864
• Release Date: March 2016
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 8.0"