Norman Granz - the founder

"[Jazz impresario] Norman Granz helped to give jazz respectablity and a wider audience by taking it out of the nightclub into the concert hall. Branded a communist by the McCarthy administration, Granz was also a passionate advocate for social justice and helped to further the carreers of many African-American musicians, including his principal protégé, Ella Fitzgerald, for whom he founded Verve Records in 1956. To mark his centenary, this 4-CD set spans 1942-1960, showcasing his productions for Verve and also at his earlier Clef and Norgran imprints. With a tracklist that reads like a Who's Who of Jazz royalty (...), "The Founder" offers a vivid portrait of one of jazz's great unsung heroes".