Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld
- Downloads：8493
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-04 17:21:42
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：T.J. English
- ISBN：B09KRXDNSH
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Libbye
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Took me a while to read because of the very detailed style， but really interesting look at American history through the background machine of jazz and organized crime。 I wasn’t sure at first but I’m glad I took the chance。
Stephanie McKinney
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Lots of back stories and information！ It’s always a big plus to have photos and short descriptions with them to make a connection with the people in the book。 This book makes the history of Jazz and the Underworld come alive。 T。 J。 English， thanks for writing this power packed book！！！
Karen
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Very entertaining，excellent！ Thank you for selecting me for this terrific read。 Karen Ruppel
Georgette
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An entertaining little roll through jazz and the mob。
Tami Montano
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This book is not the history of jazz， rather the history of what elements， environments and ideologies that gave birth to the genre of jazz。 In all genres of music， they grow out these things as well。 Not only is this book about jazz， it is so much more。 It’s a narrative of what the greats of jazz had to endure and how they translated their experiences in the music。
Beth
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Nathan Schmidt
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I received an uncorrected proof of this book through Goodreads First Reads， and I am grateful for the opportunity to review the book。From musicians like Dizzy Gillespie， Louis Armstrong， and Frank Sinatra， to gangsters like Al Capone， "Lucky" Luciano， and "Legs" Diamond， to plenty of other notable figures like President Truman and the Cuban dictator Batista， this books covers so much ground over the course of the 20th century。 It explores many intermixed themes ranging from organized crime to ra I received an uncorrected proof of this book through Goodreads First Reads， and I am grateful for the opportunity to review the book。From musicians like Dizzy Gillespie， Louis Armstrong， and Frank Sinatra， to gangsters like Al Capone， "Lucky" Luciano， and "Legs" Diamond， to plenty of other notable figures like President Truman and the Cuban dictator Batista， this books covers so much ground over the course of the 20th century。 It explores many intermixed themes ranging from organized crime to racism to police brutality to jazz， and shows how all of these factors have influenced each other。 With an in-depth look over the course of several hundred pages， it's full of sensational tidbits highlighting the colorful， dangerous， wild， brutal world of musicians and gangsters。 And yet the book grounds itself， being careful not to glamorize either。 Through the book， we see how jazz musicians and organized crime bosses established an intricate connection， for better or worse， and how their relationship - one that embodied both freedom and servitude interchangeably - developed and changed over the decades。 It's a remarkable， vivid history that has exposed me to so much that I did not know about American history and culture。 The themes about racism and the struggle for musical creativity and success， among other themes， still resound today， and I highly recommend reading this book。 。。。more
Dan
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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher William Morrow for an advanced copy of this book on the often one- sided alliance between jazz and the underworld。Degenerate。 Low- class。 Immoral。 A threat to public decency。 Drug users and threats to women and children。 All of this and more was said about the music and lifestyle that was sweeping the nation， infesting the kids with rhythm and making the young ladies scream and faint， and that members of the underworld were making a lot of scratch on My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher William Morrow for an advanced copy of this book on the often one- sided alliance between jazz and the underworld。Degenerate。 Low- class。 Immoral。 A threat to public decency。 Drug users and threats to women and children。 All of this and more was said about the music and lifestyle that was sweeping the nation， infesting the kids with rhythm and making the young ladies scream and faint， and that members of the underworld were making a lot of scratch on， jazz。 The same arguments later used on rock， soul， disco and rap were used on music started by black entertainers and refined by Louis Armstrong， Fats Waller， Jelly Roll Morton and others。 Soon white culture was paying attention with singers like Louis Prima and the Chairman of the Board himself Frank Sinatra who freely mixed and did favors for members of the underworld， and unlike other artists， made money on their deals。 Eminent crime writer and historian T。 J。 English in his book Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld writes about this intersection of music and crime， its effects on music and society at the time， and the legacy of jazz today。 The book starts with a quick origin of jazz or jass music， how it started， and grew popular as both way for African Americans to let loose and enjoy themselves as they labored under the strictures of Jim Crow America。 Almost immediately there was a criminal element， owning the clubs and bordellos that jazz players honed their craft， and later with the huge mistake that was Prohibition， musicians， good musicians were needed to play to the thousands of speakeasies that suddenly existed when the banning of alcohol by the government， made criminals the only suppliers。 With the demand for talent， came the demand for keeping that talent， no matter how little they paid or how many bones they had to break to keep the talent playing for them。 All the big names in jazz are featured， as are the big names in crime and mob history。 From clubs， to jukeboxes， to music labels and casinos jazz and underworld had quite a history together。 Being a book by Mr。 English the book is really well written and sourced。 Mr。 English is not shy on the research， nor on naming names and telling stories。 If the story has two different ways of being told， Mr。 English tells them both， as time， many lies and a lot of alcohol and drugs have made the truth a little hazy。 And a lot of bragging。 The story is smooth， and never drags and is very clear with no doubts about who is being discussed。 People are introduced， and reintroduced where needed and never becomes just a series of names and events。 Music facts and underworld information fill every page， with a lot of oh wow moments。 Politics， Cuba， drugs， cabaret laws， murders， threats， everything is covered and covered well。I've long enjoyed the books that Mr。 English has written and this one I feel is one of his best。 Maybe it is the jazz history， music that I have always enjoyed since I started listening with my father and got back into in college。 Just a very interesting story， that makes one wonder while reading what the history of jazz would have been without Prohibition， would the jazz age been called the Crooners Age。 A really good book perfect for music and crime lovers with a great soundtrack to jive to。 。。。more
KennytheKat
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I enjoy jazz music and I wanted to learn more about it but I didn’t learn much about jazz and I’m 70 pages in。 I flipped through pages after I got frustrated to see if there was any thing about jazz and I didn’t read anything about jazz。
Joseph J。
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Thank you to Goodreads and Wm。 Morrow for an advanced reader/galley of this very entertaining book。 From early twentieth century New Orleans through the Midwest and New York， Havana to Vegas， crime writer T。J。 English takes the reader on a journey through the unlikely alliance of African American jazz pioneers and the organized crime rings who offered performing venues and personal protection along with the occasional threat to career and life。 On the crowded New Orleans street it was a bullet w Thank you to Goodreads and Wm。 Morrow for an advanced reader/galley of this very entertaining book。 From early twentieth century New Orleans through the Midwest and New York， Havana to Vegas， crime writer T。J。 English takes the reader on a journey through the unlikely alliance of African American jazz pioneers and the organized crime rings who offered performing venues and personal protection along with the occasional threat to career and life。 On the crowded New Orleans street it was a bullet whizzing by young Louis Armstrong's head which taught him the need for protection in the convoluted music business and the dark and dingy clubs of the early jazz era。 If this book can be seen in two halves， the first is dominated by talented African Americans operating in a nation segregated and racist， under the "protective" thumb-or fist of growing organized crime syndicates。 The second half is dominated by The Chairman of the Board， old Blue eyes himself as white performers move into the jazz scene again overshadowed and threatened by a network of powerful crime bosses and syndicates。 As the clubs become less defined by seedy and smoky basements， to light glamorous clubs （evoking plantation themes in name and atmosphere）， as performers themselves cross racial lines in music and on stage performance， the constant is mob control and influence is racism and bigotry toward black people。 Jazz and culture was defined early on by racial and cultural outcasts: black performers， Italian mobsters， Irish big city bosses and police。 Decades pass， and while whites become assimilated， headline performers like Sammy Davis Jr。， Nat King Cole and Lena Horne are denied front door entrance at the very clubs where they perform。 They may eat， but only in the kitchen; even plates and cutlery are segregated！ In the case of Cole he may be viciously attacked and beaten on an Alabama stage-no real surprise there。 As many black performers， grateful for physical protection and a paycheck are compliant with the segregation and racism-and criminal violence-they will years later face charges of Uncle Tomism amid the growing civil rights movement （Armstrong） or being a Johnny Come Lately to Civil Rights demands （Nat King Cole after that beating）。 English seems to especially enjoy the latter half of the book， dominated by Sinatra and a plethora of major and minor crime bosses whose often blood soaked biographical nicknames tell the violence by which they were earned。 This is a roaring， only in America story in which creativity from the poor streets intermingle with violence and racial bigotry。 And in the case of Moe Levy a personal story if your every purchased cut-out L。P。's in the days of record stores-did I learn a lot there！ 。。。more
Eileen Fireman
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Thank you William Morrow Books and to the Goodreads Giveaway who made it possible for me to read and ultimately review this book。 I was elated when I learned I won "Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld。" The underworld？ I'm all in！ This girl loves her a good mob story， and Jazz is one of my favorite forms of music， and Latin Jazz in particular， my favorite。 It meshes the earliest creation of Jazz and the interplay of the mob moving in on it。 They were the ones who introduced it to the whit Thank you William Morrow Books and to the Goodreads Giveaway who made it possible for me to read and ultimately review this book。 I was elated when I learned I won "Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld。" The underworld？ I'm all in！ This girl loves her a good mob story， and Jazz is one of my favorite forms of music， and Latin Jazz in particular， my favorite。 It meshes the earliest creation of Jazz and the interplay of the mob moving in on it。 They were the ones who introduced it to the white audience who frequented their nightclubs and speakeasies。 The very same venues that used all black musicians and yet they were not allowed to participate as an audience。 The mob became the plantation masters and the Jazz musicians the indentured servants aka slaves。 The way they were trapped into sleazy music industry contracts and didn't reap the rewards of their talent。 The story is fast paced and interesting even if you think you know everything， or have heard everything about the mob and/or the Jazz musicians。 It takes you through the early days of Jazz and how the music evolved。 Pour yourself a whiskey， light up with your choice of smoke， and throw on some Bird or Miles。 You're in for a treat， and that folks is no jive。 No it ain't！ 。。。more
Ronald Koltnow
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To be published by Wm Morrow in August， 2022English's dialectic is simple: jazz began in brothels and gambling dens， the mob owned the brothels and gambling dens， therefore the mob was indispensable to the evolution of jazz。 Using overlapping case histories （esp。 those of Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra）， English shows how the two organizations coexisted。 Mobsters were early jazz fans， owned the jazz clubs， founded record companies， and became agents。 The jazz musicians relied upon their patro To be published by Wm Morrow in August， 2022English's dialectic is simple: jazz began in brothels and gambling dens， the mob owned the brothels and gambling dens， therefore the mob was indispensable to the evolution of jazz。 Using overlapping case histories （esp。 those of Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra）， English shows how the two organizations coexisted。 Mobsters were early jazz fans， owned the jazz clubs， founded record companies， and became agents。 The jazz musicians relied upon their patronage for jobs and for protection。 English does not prove all of his points but his research and journalism are first rate。 。。。more
Ruben
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First time reading this book and it was excellent。
Linden
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